A Very Merry Cullen Christmas
by obsessedovredward
Summary: Bella and Edward finally spend a Christmas together.What happens at a vampire's house during the holiday?With Emmett, Alice and the rest of the Cullen clan included, things r sure to get a bit out of control...warning:Contains mayhem and hilarity.review!
1. The Invitation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight; if I did then I would be with Edward right now instead of writing this… : )**

**Some time after Eclipse, (pretend Breaking Dawn never happened)……….**

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BPOV

I stood staring out of my window in my room, waiting for Edward to arrive. I hadn't seen him since yesterday and I was impatient to be with him again. The rain beat mercilessly against the roof of my house, which it had been doing for the last three days. The chilly wind caused me to shiver so I decided to get a sweater. I really hated this type of weather and the gloom outside didn't help to elevate my mood.

When I reached halfway towards my closet, I felt a pair of rock-hard arms encircle my waist. I yelped in surprise as the wetness of the limbs seeped through my thin shirt and touched my skin. I turned around to scowl at the owner of the arms for sneaking up on me, or at least I was planning to, but my feet had other ideas. They somehow got tangled together and the rest of me went sprawling towards the ground. Huh. 'Smooth Bella' I thought. 'As graceful as usual, I see'. Thankfully, the arms once again secured me before my nose had a chance of breaking on the floor.

Edward chuckled under his breath as he brought me into a hug, his wet skin soaking my clothes. Suddenly I didn't mind the cold. I was too mesmerized by his beautiful voice to remember why I got annoyed in the first place.

"Bella, Bella, Bella. My adorable, clumsy love, can't you stay on your feet for one day without getting into trouble? ".

Oh, yeah. _Now _I remembered why I was angry. Edward continued laughing, unaware of my glare.

"You know, I was perfectly balanced until you came in here and surprised me!" I pushed away from him and went to sit on the bed. That wiped the amused look off his face quite quickly.

"Do you want me to leave?"

The pathetic way he said it melted my fury instantly. I went to him and hugged him gently. He returned it, resting his chin on my hair.

Of course not. I'll never want you to leave. I was just startled, that's all. Now, was there anything else you wanted that prevented you from using the front door, or was scaring me your only mission?"

"Well, actually I came through the window because I wanted to ask your opinion on something before I officially arrive. You sidetracked me with your near encounter with the floor just now."

I ignored his comment on my clumsiness.

"What is it? Is everything alright?"

"Yes. Stop worrying. Everything is perfectly fine. My family, and I especially, would like you to spend the Christmas week with us at my house." He looked at me with hopeful eyes. " I plan to ask Charlie's permission but I wanted to ask you first. If you don't want to, it's not a problem. Nobody is going to pressure you to-".

I put my hand over his mouth to stop him right there. Did he still have no idea of how strong his hold on me was? The idea of spending all my time at his house was more than ideal to me, yet he thought that I would have a problem with it? He truly was insane. " Of course I'll come!" I bounced Alice-like on my feet in excitement. Edward's face split into a breathtaking grin and he hugged me tighter. " When do you want me to come? I have to pack right away! Ohhhhh, this is great!" Edward just beamed at my enthusiasm and let me prattle on and on like a kid making plans to go to Disney world. Then a possible obstacle occurred to me.

"Wait. How on earth are you going to get Charlie to agree to this? He practically hates you for being engaged to his daughter and you're talking about taking me away for the entire Christmas week- not that _I_ mind of course- and do you expect _me _to ask him? I don't think I can just go up to him and say 'Dad, I want to go spend Christmas with my fiancée's family instead of with my own father.' It might hurt his feelings. " I shuddered at the very idea. "And why are you so calm about this? Did Alice see a way to get him to agree with your plan?

Edward remained unfazed through my rant, smiling gently. "Stop worrying about the wrong things, Bella. We have a plan. I would like you to come over as soon as possible so go get packed. We should be able to leave in an hour if everything goes well. Just stay upstairs and I'll come back up when it's time."

"Who exactly are you talking about when you say 'we'?", I asked suspiciously. He obviously wasn't planning on just asking if there were other members of his family involved.

" I promise to tell you later. Go get packed and please, please try not to fall again. I'd like to carry you home in one piece."

He gave me a brief sweet kiss and jumped out of my window.

I rushed around the room, grabbing appropriate clothes for the weather. I wanted to be ready when he returned. I could hear murmuring downstairs. Charlie's voice was easily recognizable, rough with brief statements. I also heard Edward's familiar speech, soothing and smooth. I could detect one other, but it was too soft to place. I gave up on attempting to figure out who the owner of the voice was soon after, because my feet got caught in my bag strap and I had to concentrate on not tripping while I untangled myself. Edward would not be amused if I got hurt after his request.

***

An hour later I was walking out the door with Edward, who held my bags, after saying goodbye to Charlie. Alice and Jasper were waiting for us in the back seat of the Volvo.

"Hey, Bella! I'm glad you decided to come. We're going to have soooo much fun!" Alice looked just about ready to explode with excitement. I felt sorry for Jasper, who not only saw her excitement, but also was forced by his power to experience it firsthand.

"Hello, Bella. I am also glad that you could make it. " Jasper, as usual, appeared calm on the surface, although if Alice got any more excited he would be bouncing on the seat just like her.

As Edward pulled out of the driveway, I remembered his promise.

"Soooooo, how did you get Charlie to give his permission?"

"Well, it was really simple .All we had to do was present some facts. Charlie already felt a bit guilty that he had to work this week and wouldn't be able to spend much time at home with you. Jasper helped out by increasing his guilt. Your dad really likes Alice and would probably go along with whatever she suggested so she was the one to propose that you stay with us. Charlie went along with the idea very well. He thought that you would enjoy the holidays where you had more company. And I fully intend for you to enjoy this Christmas, it being our first together."

I did intend to enjoy this week with Edward. Nothing seemed more satisfying. He could be himself around his family and I could be with him. Not to mention that it _was_ our first ever Christmas together. I spent the entire ride to his house wondering what a Christmas vacation with the Cullens was going to be like. I couldn't wait to find out….

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**A/N: soooo what do you think of my first story? It might seem boring now but I plan to do at least nine more chapters that are all packed with fun. I already have the entire story drafted but I need motivation on my first piece. All I'm asking for is one review……**


	2. Snowflakes and Angels

**A/N: Yay! I got my one review and a few more too. Thanks guys. Now that I have motivation, let's get on with the story…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight; if I did I would be with Edward instead of writing : )**

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Snowflakes and Angels

**BPOV**

Okay, maybe I _could_ wait to see what kind of vacation this would turn out to be. As soon as I stepped out of the car and into the drizzling rain, Emmett came flying out the front door and grabbed me into a tight hug. Maybe it was a little too tight, though because I was starting to feel a bit light- headed.

"Emmett…….can't ……….breathe!" I managed to gasp out. Edward came to my side and glared at Emmett until he let go of me. I swayed a bit but I managed to stay upright.

"Sorry, I'm just excited! This is going to be fun! I never had a human over for the Christmas holidays before. What kind of stuff do you guys do anyway?" He ran through the words so fast that I barely understood them.

"Emmett, give her a chance to actually enter the house first. Then you can have your fun. She's getting wet in the rain and I don't want her to get sick. I see that I may have to set a few rules down soon, though."

Emmett rushed back into the house. Edward scooped me up in his arms and walked towards the porch.

"Wait, my bags!"

" Alice and Jasper already took care of those for me. Your stuff is up in my room."

Oh. I hadn't even realized before, but Jasper and Alice had disappeared. I could blame that distraction on Emmett, though.

Carlisle and Esme were waiting for us in the living room. They smiled warmly at me as I entered with Edward.

" Bella, I'm glad that you accepted our invitation. This Christmas is going to be extra special; I can feel it. We can celebrate it as a complete family, for a change."

I was confused by Esme's statement. Didn't they always celebrate Christmas together? I would have to ask Edward about that later. I didn't want them going out of their way to celebrate an occasion they didn't usually observe.

" Bella, we'd better get you upstairs and into dry clothes before you catch a cold." Edward carried me to his room before my brain had a chance to register that I was soaked to the bone. I changed quickly while he waited and went to sit next to him on the couch.

"Edward, what did Esme mean about spending Christmas as a family? Don't you all celebrate Christmas?"

"Of course we do, just not as a complete family. Since we don't eat there's no point in making Christmas food, and we all spent over fifty Christmases together so the novelty of it has worn off. Even then, we didn't uphold any of your human traditions. Usually all the couples use the holiday to split up and travel together to get some time alone."

"So what did you do during all that time?" I couldn't help asking, but regretted it as soon as I saw the sadness that crept up on his face. He turned away before he answered me in a nonchalant voice.

"I didn't want to be a bother to Carlisle and Esme or any of my siblings so I offered to watch the house for them. I had nothing much to do so Christmas meant as much to me as any weekend."

I couldn't help it then. I put my arms around him. I didn't know whether I was comforting him or myself. I felt his unhappiness as if it were my own.

" That sounds very boring. I promise you that this Christmas is going to be different. No more 'bah, humbug' for you, mister. I'll keep you company, even if you turn all Scrooge-ish on me."

I tried to ease his sadness with a bit of humour and a grin.

"I want nothing better than your company. That's all I need to make this the most special Christmas ever. My family is so glad that I have someone to share the holiday with; that's why they have all agreed to stay at home this year. As for me, I'm ecstatic. Even Rosalie is looking forward to it, but she wouldn't admit that. I think they are planning to really get into the Christmas customs this year, though, so you should be careful. I don't know how much we can restrain Alice..." He grinned at me and I forgot what the conversation was about. I glanced at the darkening sky and was surprised to see that the rain had finally stopped falling. In its place was a very light snowfall. I pulled Edward to the glass wall to get a better look. This was the first time that I showed any enthusiasm for what I previously referred to as 'white, mushy stuff'. It reminded me of that day in the cafeteria when I first came to Forks, when I saw Edward laughing with his siblings after disappearing for a week. He looked like a model to me then, too. I also remembered the conversation we had soon after………..

It's too bad about the snow, isn't it? Not really.

_You don't like the cold._

_Or the wet._

" Bella, what are you thinking? You look like you're deep in thought and it's driving me crazy not knowing where your mind is."

I turned my back on the snow and smiled lovingly at him. "I was just thinking of when I first came to live here. The first month at school. Do you remember?"

He grimaced.

"Of course I remember. I plotted a hundred ways to kill you on your first day, ran away to Alaska for a week like a scared puppy, and drove myself crazy trying to figure out the unusual gorgeous girl sitting next to me. I was so rude to you then. I'm not exactly proud of the way I talked to you in the beginning. If I heard anyone else doing that, I wouldn't hesitate to give him a piece of my mind. Why on earth would you want to remember _that_?"

"Actually, I was thinking about the conversation in Biology the day you came back to school. It was snowing that day, too. I told you then that I didn't like snow, yet here I am, marveling at its beauty. I think you helped me see how pretty it could be."

"Would you like to go outside in the snow, then?"

"If you don't mind going out in the cold with me"

"I don't mind at all. Let me get you something warm to wear and we can go out."

In less than five minutes I was on the front porch bundled in two of Edward's winter jackets. His heavenly scent on the jackets wafted around my head. I ran out into the snow and began to spin around and around until I got dizzy.

Edward followed behind me, his gorgeous crooked smile on his face. He stepped in front of me, one hand extended in front of him.

"May I have this dance, ma'am?"

You've _got_ to be kidding me, right? Didn't he know that was an accident waiting to happen?

"Edward, you know I don't dance."

"You danced with me at the prom. And you _did_ say that you enjoyed it."

"I was not exactly dancing on my own. You helped me, remember? I might fall if I try to do it by myself."

"You can stand on my feet again if you'd like. I wouldn't mind that at all; I get an excuse to hold you closer."

I could live with that. I'd do anything for him to hold me closer, even if it meant dancing.

"Hmm, that sounds okay, I guess. But there's no music"

"That's not a problem"

He lifted me onto his feet and rested his hands on my waist. I wrapped mine around his neck and stared into his topaz eyes as he began to hum my lullaby. The next thing I knew, Edward had me spinning with him through the snow, faster and faster as he hummed at an increased tempo, his hands tightening even more around my waist. I was thoroughly enjoying myself. I flung my head back and closed my eyes as we whirled in the night, smiling widely while snowflakes settled on my face.

EPOV

I watched Bella as she tilted her head back to feel the snow on her face. I tightened my grip on her, wanting to be closer to the beauty dancing with me. I didn't even have to think about reducing my strength , it came as second nature with Bella now. She was absolutely stunning. How could such an angel be destined for a monster like me? Delicate snowflakes caressed her face and I longed to do the same. I brushed my lips against her eyelids, her cheeks, and the edge of her lips ever so gently. I could feel her heart flutter like a bird's wings and her hands tightened around my neck. She returned the kiss with so much passion that I felt like I was flying. I was literally knocked off my feet as Bella's response caught me off guard. I twisted myself at the last moment so I wouldn't crush Bella by falling on her. I was astonished. How on earth did a vampire lose balance so easily?

Bella chuckled into my chest as she saw the stunned look on my face.

"Now look who's the clumsy one. I never thought I'd see the day that Edward Cullen fell for no reason."

"I had a very good reason, Miss soon-to-be-Cullen. Your beauty knocked me off my feet and now I'm head over heels in love with you." I smirked.

"Right. Nice excuse _Mr. Clumsy_"

She smiled and rolled off my chest into the snow. Her arms and legs began moving up and down. I propped up on my elbows to watch her bizarre behaviour. What on earth was she _doing_?

Bella caught me staring at her and stopped moving. She laughed at my confused expression, her beautiful brown eyes playful. Her adorable blush covered her face.

"What? Haven't you seen someone making snow angels before?"

Oh. How fitting. _My_ angel was making angels in the snow. I smiled at her childishness. She truly seemed like a teenager now, and not the mature Bella she usually was. It warmed my un-beating heart to think of this. How could I take away her life, her _soul_? Why would she want to become like us, when she had a long human life ahead of her?

And what kind of monster was I to _want_ Bella to stay with me forever?

Bella's laugh pulled me out of my musing.

"And what exactly is so hilarious, love?"

"You are"

Huh?

She gave an explanation quickly.

"Your hair is sticking up and covered in snow. It's funny and………. _cute."_

She turned even redder at this statement. If I could blush I would be doing so right now, too.

She brushed her fingers lightly through my unruly hair, trying to fix it. I melted internally under the warmth of her hand. I loved Bella so much that it hurt.

At that moment, Bella let out a loud yawn and blushed harder in embarrassment. I chuckled.

"Come on, time for you to sleep, love."

She didn't even oppose this and let me help her off the ground without protest. She was asleep before we reached the staircase, apparently very tired from the dancing, or the cold. I enjoyed today immensely and I wondered if my vacation could possibly get better than this. I had no idea what I was missing the first time since I was a child, Christmas seemed like something to anticipate. I owed all of this to the love of my existence snuggled peacefully in my arms.

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**A/N: I wanted to start of with a bit of romance before the comedy. Next up: Bella is convinced that the snow is out to get her……..**

**If you want the next chapter, though, I need one review. As long as I know **_**somebody**_** wants to read it, I'll update.**


	3. War of the Evil Snowvampires

**A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!**

**So here's the third chapter. Hope you enjoy it. I want to thank the ppl who reviewed my story so far. It's all I need to continue updating. **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Twilight I would have better things to do than writing this, like being with Edward : )**

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War of the Evil Snow-vampires

**BPOV**

I awoke in Edward's bed to see a rare streak of bright sunlight streaming into the room through the glass wall. This couldn't distract me from realizing that Edward was missing, though. The bed was abnormally warm without his presence. The clock on his CD player informed me that it was 10:00am, a lot later than I thought. My stomach protested at the lateness so I decided to appease my hunger before looking for Edward. I entered the kitchen to find Esme with a box of my favourite cereal and a milk carton.

"Good morning" I mumbled sleepily, eyeing the cereal hungrily.

"Good morning, dear. I heard your stomach rumble so I was going to bring you some breakfast. It's all we have right now, though. Edward just stepped out to do some grocery shopping for me. He would have wanted you to come with him, but decided that you were tired enough last night to need some extra rest. He should be back soon. Here's your cereal."

"Thanks"

She placed a tray with a bowl of cereal and a glass of milk in front of me on the table, smiled warmly and left. I was really glad that Edward let me sleep in. All that dancing last night had me exhausted. I couldn't even remember coming back inside the house. As I was eating, it occurred to me that the house was unusually quiet. Usually Emmett was playing video games or watching TV and Alice was zipping around chattering about the newest designer clothes collection. Definitely weird.

I finished breakfast quickly and decided to wait for Edward outside. I also wanted to see how much snow had fallen during the night.

As I opened the front door, I almost died of fright. A gigantic snowman stood towering above me on the porch. Calling it a snow-'man' was wrong, though because this monster came equipped with 2-inch long fangs that dripped with a red liquid similar to blood. In my fright, I lost my balance and promptly went crashing headfirst into the snow-vampire. This in turn caused me to land with a thud on the wood floor. Great, clumsiness strikes again.

"Emmett!!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The size of the snow-vamp was a giveaway; he was definitely responsible for this and I was going to make him pay for my pain and humiliation. How I would do this exactly, I had no idea. He appeared on the porch step in front of me, barely keeping himself from falling over as he shook with booming laughter.

"Be...Bel………Bella! That was marvelous! Wonderful performance. Can you do that again so I can videotape it? I'm sure the rest of the family would be as entertained as I was. Let me introduce you to my friend, Frostbite. Get it? Frost- because he's made of snow and –bite because he has fangs. I personally think the bloodied fangs were a nice touch. It's actually berry juice. "

Ugh. As loveable as he was, Emmett was really getting on my last nerve. Rage-induced tears flowed freely down my face.

"Emmett, are you trying to _kill_ me? I'm already a danger to myself as it is, why add things I could trip over?"

That made him laugh even harder but any reply he was going to make was wiped from his mind by the roar of the approaching Volvo. Edward gracefully slid out of the driver's seat with at least ten grocery bags in his hand. When he glanced up, he was met with a sight that probably seemed very queer to him: Emmett was barely upright and trying unsuccessfully to stop his laughter while I sat on the floor, hands folded like a stubborn child, tears streaming down my face, eyes trying to incinerate Emmett with my glare, and a snow-creature in front of me that looked like it got pummeled with a cannon ball, said cannonball being my head, of course. A chuckle escaped Edward before he could mask it as a cough. Yeah, right. As if vampires _needed_ to cough anyway. I fixed my glare on him.

Concern for me quickly overrode the humour of the situation, though, and he was on his knees in front of me in a flash, groceries forgotten on the step.

"Bella, are you alright? What did my idiot of a brother do this time? Does anything hurt?" His cold hands searched my head for bumps while his eyes surveyed the rest of me for bruises. Nothing was wrong with me, except that Emmett had made fun of me _again._

"Your brother just tried to startle me to death with this _thing_ in front of me. You're just lucky that you didn't return home to find me with a broken neck."

"So _he's_ the one responsible for the blockage in the driveway. I would have been here earlier but Emmett saw it fit to build at least fifty snowmen complete with fangs in my path at different intervals. There was a 'Snow-Vampire Crossing' sign at one point with very heavy snow-pedestrian traffic in the middle of the road and he also did a battle scene. There were fanged heads rolling everywhere, marching columns and fake blood. Emmett really needs to find a better hobby I had to keep coming out of the car to clear the way."

" You killed my army?" Emmett bawled out in horror. "Their life was too short. Why, oh why did they have to leave us?"

"You should be more concerned for Bella than an army of snow-vampires, moron. She could have gotten seriously hurt and then I would have had to kill you."

" Do you always have to be so dramatic? Lighten up, bro. I was just trying to have some fun. Besides, if Bella got hurt you would just change her and that will do us all good. Bella would get what she wants and you wont have to be so gentle with her anymore. And I don't think poor Jasper could take the pent-up lust coming from you two any longer."

That caused me to go beet red with embarrassment. It was _so _not what you wanted to hear coming from your future brother-in-law, especially with your fiancée next to you. Edward cringed from the dirty pictures he was undoubtedly seeing in Emmett's head.

"You want me to lighten up? Here you go." Edward growled softly and pounced on Emmett, knocking him ten feet across the yard and into the nearest tree, where a large pile of snow fell from its boughs and buried Emmett before the tree snapped in half and fell on him too. Seeing that made me feel a lot better about the fall. I guess Edward was set on getting the revenge I wanted. He rushed back to me where I now stood on the last step. Just then, Rosalie strolled out of the forest.

"Where's Emmett? He was supposed to be waiting for me outside."

She caught sight of the moving pile of snow that was Emmett. Edward offered a short explanation.

"Emmett almost injured Bella."

Rosalie stalked up to us and before I could blink, I was turned into a walking snowman.

"I don't care what he did. I'm the only one allowed to punish my husband."

Edward quickly brushed the snow off me and pelted a snowball at her.

"Oooh, snow fight!" Emmett, who had just emerged from the heap of snow, shouted. He dropped to the ground and half a dozen snowballs were hurled at Edward and me at vampire-speed. Edward shielded me from the missiles, which hit him in the chest with such force that he stepped back a few centimeters. If I had come into contact with those, I surely would have gotten a few cracked bones. I'd have to thank Edward for protecting me later.

"Hey, we want to play too!" Alice and jasper came running from the backyard.

"What if we make this a _rea_l game with teams?" Alice's eyes glazed over momentarily before she began bouncing up and down in excitement, obviously having just seen the decision. "And Edward, you are _not _getting away from this. I promise Bella will not get hurt so that's no excuse and you'll both enjoy it; I've seen it. I also get to pick teams. Edward, Bella and me against Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper.

Edward turned towards me. Apparently it was my decision to make. It sounded like fun and Alice said there was no danger so why not?

"Let's do it Edward. It sounds like fun."

"Yay !" Shockingly, this came from Jasper, although I suspected that it was a result of Alice and Emmett's moods.

"I have a cool idea. Give me a minute and then come around to the backyard.

Emmett promptly disappeared to the backyard and we followed shortly after.

Before I could reach, though, I hit a patch of slippery ice and almost crashed to the ground. Luckily, Edward saved me just in time. Great, just great. First Emmett used snow to try to kill me and now I have _snow_ out to get me without anyone's help.

"Love, please try to be careful. I knew this was a bad idea. We haven't even started and you already get in trouble. And I have no idea what Emmett is planning either. He's singing '_frostbite the snow-vamp'_ to a 'frosty' tune.

"_Relax_, Edward. Just try to have fun and stop worrying about me."

"As if it were so easy to stop worrying about you. I don't know what I would do if I were to lose you, especially to a pile of _snow_!"

Just then, I came into view of the backyard and any comment I had flew right out of my head. Wow.

Emmett had built at least fifty of his enormous snow-monsters in random positions across the lawn. Another battle scene. Two lines of bodies formed the team forts.

"Like it? I now name this fight 'war of the snow-vampires'! The call to battle is in two minutes. Let the games begin!"

We quickly split up and made combat plans. I stayed safely behind the wall and made snowball ammo while the Cullen siblings began to pelt the mush at each other. They flitted around the snow-soldiers in a slow vampire-speed, accounting for my inability to see more than blurs if they went at a normal pace for them. This went on for over half an hour.

I watched Edward in fascination as he played with his family, soon to be my family, laughing with them as they tackled each other in the snow or landed a well-placed snowball in someone else's face. He looked so carefree, like the seventeen-year-old boy he was physically and not a 107-year old vampire. It was absolutely breathtaking to see him so loosened up for a change. I longed to join in his games but before we started, he requested that I stay out of firing range if I wanted him to worry about me less. Of course, I had consented so now I gazed at him in wonder as I prepared more ammunition.

After a while I became a bit more adventurous and darted to the closest snow-vampire to me. Emmett had engaged Edward in a one-on-one match not too far from my vantage point. It was clear that both were oblivious as they concentrated on each other's moves.

No one could see me here either.

I had a clear shot of Emmett's front as they circled slowly. Aha! Now I could have my revenge for Emmett's trick earlier. I stooped down and gathered up as much snow as I could in my gloved hands and formed the perfect snowball. I let loose my missile and it landed right where Emmett's heart was. Bulls-eye!

All the vampires stopped their various activities to stare at me. Emmett was speechless with shock. Alice was grinning from ear to ear. Of course she saw this happening, how could she not?

"Ha! When you've been bested by a _human,_ Emmett, I think it's time to admit defeat. I believe Bella's team should win for her marvelous shot. What do you all think?" Alice looked around for views on her suggestion while we all doubled over in laughter at Emmett's face, frozen in shock at the impossibility of being hit by _me_.

Eventually the others composed themselves enough to declare my team the winner.

I was really glad that I could have contributed in some way to the team's success, despite being the weakest link. As Edward came over to congratulate me, my stomach gurgled loudly. I guess we were out here for quite a long time because I was suddenly famished.

Edward chuckled. "Come on, my beloved champion, let's find some food for you before you faint."

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**A/N:So, Watcha think? If I should bother to continue, review! It's my motivation.**

**Next: Alice….a mall…..Christmas shopping and some really wacky situations! Need I say more?……..**


	4. Santa's Little Vampire Helpers

**A/N: Hey. Sorry for the late update. I got grounded but I found a way around it. Here's chapter four….**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If I did Edward would be sitting with me and rubbing my cramping fingers but guess what, he's not…**

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Santa's Little Vampire Helpers

** BPOV**

I was woken up by gentle kisses on my face and neck. Edward noticed immediately when I was awake.

"Bella," he breathed in my ear, "I suggest you wake up before Alice comes barging in here. She allowed me enough time to wake you. I preferred this method to what I saw in her mind."

Always the gentleman. I was glad, too, that he woke me up in this manner. I pecked him on the lips as a 'thank you'.

"Good Morning." I like this method, too. Now, what is so important that your sister can't wait for me to wake up? Or is it something so horrible that I'd prefer not to know?"

I knew the answer before he replied. A hyper Alice cold only mean trouble.

"She's blocking her thoughts so I don't know what she's planning. From that, I gather that she's up to no good."

"Well, let's get this over with, then." I sighed. "Alice, you can come in now."

The words were barely out of my mouth when the door to Edward's bedroom flew open and Alice pounced on me.

"Hey, Bella! Let's go shopping!"

Ugh. I knew it. Maybe I should go back to sleep now and when I wake up it will all be a bad dream.

"This isn't a dream, Bella." She winked. " I saw you trying to go back to sleep. This trip won't be so bad. And besides, I'm sure you need to do some Christmas shopping, too. Humans usually do. I guarantee that it'll be fun."

Fun. That did _not _sound good. Unfortunately, I could see no way around this, Alice usually had her way when it came to me. And she was right. I _did _have shopping to do. She saw my surrender before I could put it into words.

"Yay! We leave in half an hour. Have breakfast, get dressed and meet us girls at the front door."

With that statement, she left.

Edward was staring at my look of horror, greatly amused. I could not see the humor in the situation.

"What's so funny? I may leave to go to the mall and never return. Alice is surely going to kill me."

Wait, what had Alice said?_ Girls?_

"Wait a minute. You're not coming?"

"Why would I? Alice planned a girls' Christmas shopping trip. Although, I regret not being able to spend the day with you."

So did I.

"So why can't you persuade her to let you come? I may not be able to do anything against her but she can't do anything to you. Or do you have something better to do?"

"Bella' don't be absurd. Nothing is better than spending time with you. But I thought you would want some time to go shopping. Christmas shopping is another experience I think human girls enjoy fro some bizarre reason." His face twisted into a confused expression before smoothening again. "It will not be the same if I were with you. Human or vampire, shopping appeals very little to males, me included. That is, unless it involves shopping for something I could give you. Can't I get you a Christmas present?"

Uh, uh. He definitely would _not_ get to buy me presents. Edward had a tendency to go overboard and I'm sure if I were lenient now, he would find some way to get something outrageously expensive for me. I would not allow this.

"You know the rule. No presents."

"Please? I promise to keep it simple."

He turned his hypnotic gaze on me and unleashed all of his dazzling power. I was done for.

"Fine, but you have to promise that it will be nothing expensive. And I get to give you a present, too."

"Bella, you don't have to. Your presence is the greatest present I could receive. And I already have it."

"Stop distracting me. Promise me or no deal."

" I promise not to get you anything expensive. And you can get me a present if you so desire."

I hope eh stuck to that promise. But right now I had bigger problems at hand.

"Won't you come shopping with me? It'll at least make the trip bearable. And since you can now get me a present, I think you have Christmas shopping to do, too. Please?"

I tried my most pleading, pathetic look on him. It must have worked because he quickly gave in to my pleading.

Half an hour later, we were at the front door. Alice and Rosalie emerged from their bedrooms a few seconds later.

"Bella. I'm glad you're actually on time. Humans can be so _slow_ sometimes. Let's go. Edward, you can let go of her hand, now"

He gripped my hand harder.

"Alice, Edward is coming with us. It's either that or we go shopping together and leave you and Rosalie to your own trip.

"Ugh. I can see that you won't be shaken, Bella, so I will allow it this time. Btu you owe me a shopping day."

Oh, well. I'd take what I get and be happy. As long as I had Edward today.

Seconds later, Emmett and Jasper came rushing down the stairs.

"No fair. If he gets to go, we want in, too."

Since when was Emmett interested in shopping?

"Fine. We can make this a family shopping trip, then. I'd invite Carlisle and Esme to go along with us but they went to the mall during our little snow-fight yesterday."

We all grinned at Alice's reminder of the previous day's fun. Emmett grimaced as the memory of defeat at my hands stung him again.

"Come on. We'd better leave now if we want to make it before the year ends."

****** *

We made it in record time, even for the Cullens. They drove as fast as their cars would allow-Alice and Jasper in the Porsche, Rosalie and Emmett in the Jeep and Edward and I in the Volvo. As a result, I emerged shakily from the front seat at the end of the journey with fingers stiff from holding on to the seat for dear life, and eyes watering from clamping them shut so tightly so I wouldn't get sick. Edward had to support my weight as I walked to the mall entrance, leaning heavily on him. This shopping trip did _not _start well at all. Unfortunately, it was going to get much worse.

Alice dragged me into at least two hundred stores, while I pulled Edward behind me. Emmett and Jasper went about their own business and Rosalie, surprisingly, stayed with us through the Alice-evoked torture. Probably getting kicks off my discomfort. As we made our way to a Gap store, Alice went into one of her visions, freezing mid-step.

"Oh, for heaven's sake! Can't Emmett behave for just one day?"

She swiveled and stormed to the middle section of the mall, her countenance screaming murder. I actually felt sorry fro Emmett and hoped he had enough time to run before Alice got a hand on him.

The rest of the group followed, confused. What had he done now to get Alice that angry? The answer came as we rounded the next corner and saw Emmett.

Emmett was near the front of a line of children, all waiting to sit on Santa's lap and get a present. He was bouncing up and down excitedly, threatening to flatten the children behind him if he stepped back any more. There was one more child to go. Emmett began to chant at the top of his lungs "I'm gonna see Santa! I'm gonna see Santa!"

I couldn't contain my laughter. The sight of my soon-to-be bear of a big brother jumping up and down like a child was hilarious. The kids didn't think so; they were all alarmed.

Emmett was at the front now. Wait. Was he actually stupid enough to try to _sit_ on that poor suited man's lap? He'd be squished under Emmett's weight. Suddenly I could guess what Alice's vision was about.

She managed to stalk over to him and pull him out of the line before he could attempt that, though. Emmett was brought back to the group, being pulled painfully by the ear.

As soon as Alice was out of sight of the many curious shoppers, she exploded.

" Emmett, what the hell are you trying to do, get us thrown out of the mall? I will _not_ have you ruining my shopping trip. And I can't believe you are brainless enough to try to sit on that man's lap. You aren't exactly as light as a feather and those little children will not appreciate you killing Santa Claus. Furthermore, what do you think will happen to Jasper if you broke that man's leg? A crushed bone means punctures skin and that equals lots of blood. We don't need the exposure of a feeding frenzy in the middle of all these people. Well, what do you have to say fro yourself?"

Wow. I never heard Alice that furious before. I was definitely _not_ planning to get on her bad side, even of it meant playing Barbie for her pleasure. Emmett was speechless. He managed to mutter a heartbroken apology before retreating behind the rest of us, as far away from Alice as possible. I tried to console him.

" Don't be so sad, Emmett. I'm sure you didn't want those things to happen. And Alice, stop being so hard on him. I admit it was stupid, but you know Emmett only wanted to have fun. Just forget it and let's finish shopping so we can go home."

"Fine. But Emmett, you'd better not do anything to annoy me again if you value your existence."

The peace lasted until afternoon, when the emotions around jasper became too much for him to handle. The raw excitement of little children, Alice's anger, the exhaustion of mall employees, and frustration of parents in such force had him changing moods every few seconds, his face twisting in different ways due to their effect. One moment he was skipping into a tore, the next he was dragging his feet tiredly or snapping at random people who glanced his way. Seriously, if I didn't know him better, I'd say he was a vampire with bipolar issues.

That wasn't the last of our worries. Rosalie and Alice came from one particularly colorful store, grinning and swinging four recently acquired bags in their hands. I did not want to know what those bags held, but it looked as if I was going to find out anyway.

"Look what we found. Aren't they adorable? I bought us all outfits to wear for the holiday." Alice then proceeded to show us her purchases. Outfits? More like nightmares to me. They bought a reindeer suit for Emmett, nutcracker uniforms for Jasper and Edward, an Elf suit for Alice and Angel outfits fro Rosalie and myself.

Jasper and Edward began protesting as soon as they caught a glimpse of their outfits.

"No way. I am _not _wearing that uniform." Edward

" I'd rather wear a dress then that _thing_." Jasper

Alice raised an eyebrow mischievously. "Would you, now?"

"On second thought, give me the outfit."

None of us protested after that. Who knew how far Alice would go?

I managed to do some shopping, too, to my surprise. I spent hours searching for the perfect gift fro Edward. Once found, I sent everyone off to get me lunch s I could keep the gift a secret without Edward picking it out of someone's mind. I was very proud of myself for finding it. I mean, what on earth would you give someone who had everything, and enough money to buy whatever he wanted?

It was late evening when Emmett startled me by squealing excitedly near my ear.

"Oooh, look! A toy store! Can I go? Can I, pleeeaaaase?"

Oh, no. Not again. Was there anyone alive who was more childish than Emmett? I highly doubted it.

He rushed into the store, with Rosalie following a step behind to try to keep him in check. We all trailed behind apprehensively.

'Brace yourselves, people,' I thought to the store employees. Emmett raced around the entire store, jumping into bins filled with balls of all sizes and colors, riding around in toy cars and ending up knocking over a display of stuffed animals. When the store employees tried asking him to leave, he leaped onto a toy pool table and brandished a chocolate-filled candy-cane at them, shouting, "Come no further, weak mortals, or I shall smite thee with thy mighty blade!"

Eventually, security managed to kick Emmett out of the mall, and all of us with him. It was entertaining, except for the security part. I think, for the first time in my life, I actually enjoyed a shopping trip, thanks to Emmett. That, and the fact that I had Edward by my side the entire time, offering support as Alice rushed me around and stepping in occasionally to keep her in check. All in all, it was a very _interesting_ day.

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**A/N: How do you like it so far? Poor Bella, and Emmett, and Jasper. I actually did the candy-cane thing like Emmett in school, except that I was standing on the edge of a bridge. Of course, if you want an update, I need reviews.**

**I also want to thank Viper003 who reviewed this chapter minutes after it was posted and all previous chapters, too.**

**Next: Emmett strikes again! Will Edward finally kill him?……………..**

**Review to find out! **


	5. Emmett Strikes Again!

**A/N: Here's chapter 5. Please review if you like it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If I did, I would have spent this Christmas with Edward. Sadly, my life isn't that perfect….**

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Emmett Strikes Again!

**BPOV**

I was bored. Edward had to go hunting today so he could spend the rest of days leading up to Christmas with me. It was unavoidable so I put on a brave face and sent him on his way with Jasper. Now, two hours after he left, I had nothing to do. Alice went Christmas shopping again with Rosalie so I didn't even have an unpleasant makeover to distract me from the emptiness I felt, the longing I had for a certain bronze-haired vampire to return home. I was pulled from my pit of depression by Emmett bounding down the stairs.

"Bella, I'm bored!" That made two of us.

"So what do you want me to do about it? If I had anything better to do I won't be sitting on the couch doing absolutely nothing. Why didn't you go hunting or something?"

"I went last night. Rose was angry with me for the whole mall thing so I got kicked out of the house for the night. So now I'm left here with my favorite human and nothing else to occupy me."

"Emmett, I'm probably the _only_ human who could stand within fifty feet of you and not freak out with fear. And, instead of sitting here talking about having _nothing_ to do, why don't we _find_ something to do. What do you propose?"

I was sure whatever he had in that brain of his was either going to be really stupid or really dangerous. But it didn't hurt to ask.

"Um…Oh, I got it! Let's go skating!"

So I was wrong. What he had in his brain was both stupid _and_ dangerous.

"Emmett, are you insane? I fall on solid ground over my own feet and you want to put me on slippery, smooth ice with sharp blades strapped to my feet? I might kill myself, and then Edward will kill you before going to his own death." I shuddered at the thought. I didn't even want to _think_ about that possibility.

"Oh come on. Where's your adventurous side? After motorcycles, I think a little ice won't be so bad. Besides, I'll be right there to catch you. And we won't be bored anymore. Let's go."

With that, he threw me over his broad shoulder, ignoring my protests and fists drumming against his muscled back. He led me out to the river behind the house, to a wide area that was perfect for ice-skating. No trees to slide into and no sharp rocks jutting out from the ground. Okay. This didn't seem _so_ bad. What's the worst that could happen? I was mesmerized by the way the faint sunlight bounced off the frozen water and made it look like a sheet of diamonds. Like Edward's skin. I sighed as my thoughts reverted back to him.

"Where are we even going to get ice skates anyway? I never skated before so I don't own a pair."

"No problem. I have some right here. I thought Alice's should fit since she usually uses her shoes to dress you up."

He held out a pair in each hand. Huh, I didn't even notice when he left to get them. Or were they here before?

He dangled the smaller pair in front of my face and I grabbed them. I slid my feet into them, surprised that they fit perfectly, and secured the straps on the boots. I made an attempt to stand and promptly went crashing onto my knees. Not a good start at all. Maybe I should take this as a warning and give up the ridiculous idea of skating on ice. I couldn't even find balance on the skates!

Emmett, meanwhile, had already donned his skates and was sliding around on the ice very gracefully despite his massive size. I watched as he carved figure eights over and over onto the smooth surface, convinced that I would never be able to even dream about attempting that. Emmett was clearly enjoying himself.

"Look at this, Bella!" He then began to make the outline of a snowman on the ice, and after that, did a Christmas tree shape.

"Bella, why aren't you on the ice? It's really fun. Come on!"

He skated over to where I was sitting in the snow and pulled me to my feet. My arms felt like they were being pulled right out of their sockets with the force he used. He had me on the thin blades in seconds, knees locked together and feet jerking around, threatening to slip and send me flying. I was _not_ thrilled.

"Emmett, I don't think I can do this." I couldn't stop the fear I felt from showing in my voice. I was terrified, and that was putting it mildly. My feet were slipping and sliding a little _too_ much for my liking. The only thing keeping me upright was Emmett's strong grip on my shoulders.

"Of course you can. All you need to do is actually get _on_ the ice." He pulled me forward so that I was now on the edge of the makeshift skating rink. As soon as he loosened his grip on me, my feet went sliding forward and I was on my behind again. Ouch. That one stung. Emmett found that really hilarious for some odd reason and didn't try to hide his amusement. He burst out laughing. I tried to get off my behind- the cold was seeping through the material of my pants- but was only met with failure. I glared at Emmett, who was managing to balance on his skates _and_ find amusement at my expense.

"You know, I can see why Edward keeps you around. Humans can be so _entertaining_!"

"A little help here?" I worked to make my voice sound angrier with him than annoyed at myself for my lack of balance. He only laughed harder, but held out a hand to help me back onto my own two feet.

"Okay, maybe you need a bit of practice, too." He smirked.

"Let's start with balance, since you are so obviously lacking. This is what you need to do to keep your weight centered above the skates so you don't go crashing into the ground. I doubt the ground can take any more abuse."

He proceeded to show me how to balance on the skates and then took my hands.

"Let's see if you're doing it right."

Emmett pulled me after him doing all the work to move while I focused solely on staying on my feet. After about half an hour of this, I think I started to get the hang of it. I began to enjoy myself a little, even if I wouldn't admit it to anyone else. I slowly leaned my head back while keeping my weight centered and closed my eyes. The wind created by our movement felt good against my skin, even though it was cold. It reminded me of running with Edward…Edward. I completely forgot about him in my concentration. I was sure that he wouldn't approve of my most recent endeavor but he wasn't due to be home for at least a few hours so I hoped that he wouldn't find out. Only Emmett knew I was out here doing this, since he was the one who forced me into it so he'd better have a good way to block his mind. I'd have to remind him about that before we went inside

" Come on, Bella. I think it's time to try everything out on your own, now that you seem to have gotten the hang of it."

"No! Don't let go of me!"

My previous fear returned. Having support constantly while doing this was one thing, but attempting to maneuver my way alone on ice with skates was definitely out of the question.

"I'll be right here. It's not so hard. If I can do it, you can."

He made a show of leaping into the air and doing three twists before touching the ice again.

"All you need is a little push."

He came up behind me and gave my back a shove. That's when I would say all hell broke loose. The next few seconds were a blur but I caught the gist of what happened. The unexpected push caused me to lose balance, meaning, of course that I fell. This wasn't an ordinary encounter with the ground, though. I had sharpened blades on my feet, thus making the situation much worse.

My legs got tangled in themselves as I went sliding across the ice and somehow, the shoe on my left foot sliced open the skin of my right leg. Not good at all. To make matters worse, being me, I just _had_ to pass over an area of thin ice. Crack! A second later, I was up to my waist in the freezing water of the river below me.

"Oh. My. Goodness! I'm a dead vamp! I'm a dead vamp!"

Emmett was panicked. He raced over to me; eyes wide as his brain registered in shock what he had done. He yanked me up by the waist and aped to the house with me in his arms, not even bothering to remove his skates. I could tell that he wasn't breathing. I knew why; I smelt the blood, too. However, I focused all my energy into not passing out from the cold or the scent so I was unable to find the strength to lift my head enough to check the injury. All I knew was that there was a _lot_ of blood.

Emmett stumbled into the house, still on skates, bellowing at the top of his voice for Carlisle. Both he and Esme emerged from their bedroom in a flashed, alarmed by his tone. They took in my dripping, injured form in Emmett's arms, the skates on my feet and the terror in Emmett's eyes.

"Oh my goodness! Bella, are you all right? Emmett, what have you _done_?" Esme was alarmed.

Carlisle caught my shiver and flew into doctor mode.

"We can discuss things later. She needs a blanket before she catches a cold and I'll need my bag. Emmett, put her in the couch.

I was laid in the couch with my feet elevated to slow the flow of blood. The cold from the water prevented the gash from hurting. All I could feel was numbness. I felt a thick blanket being draped around me but I was too exhausted to open my eyes. I didn't even know when I had closed them.

"Bella, I'm going to stitch up this cut now. There's already a painkiller in your leg so you won't feel a thing. Try to rest and I'll be done very soon."

Rest. What a wonderful word. I drifted off to sleep in seconds.

I was awakened by the sound of the Volvo's engine. Edward must be home. I was semi-aware that I was now dry, and very warm. Esme must've changed me. I was too grateful for the warmth to feel embarrassed. The door slammed open.

"Why do I smell…"

Edward froze as he took in my blanketed form on the couch, before rushing over to me.

"Bella! What happened to you? And why do I smell blood? Please tell me you're okay."

Of course I was okay. He was home.

"I…um…tripped."

"Tripped? Then why do I smell your blood?"

"I tripped on ice. Emmett had me ice-skating so we wouldn't be bored and I kinda lost my balance and cut myself with a skate before falling through the ice."

His face changed quickly from concerned to angry. He mouthed the words 'ice-skating'. I just hoped he wasn't _too_ angry with me.

"Please don't be angry at me. I didn't mean to fall. It just…happened. I can't bear it if you're angry with me."

His face softened as he gazed incredulously at me.

"Bella, you think I'm angry at _you_? Of course not! I can never be. I'm going to kill Emmett, though. I can't believe he thought it was a good idea to take you _ice-skating_. Look at what he did to you! Where is he anyway?"

Despite my painful skating experience at Emmett's hand, I felt sorry for him. He was so terrified when I fell.

"Please don't Edward. Stay here with me. Emmett is really sorry for what he did, and he's afraid of what you might do to him. I saw the terror in his face when realized what had happened. And, besides, Esme already basically blew the roof off shouting at him. Take it easy on him, for me. I really _did_ have fun."

"Only for you. I planned to bury him under the ice in the river. You said you had fun? That's good to hear. Maybe we could go skating again sometime, just the two of us. But this time I will _not_ let you hurt yourself. I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt because of me."

Just the two of us? I couldn't wait. He pulled the blanket off my leg to survey the damage. His face pulled into a mask of pain.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, concerned.

"I don't feel a thing."

He stayed by my side while I slept some more, humming my lullaby in my ear.

When I woke up hours later in Edward's bed, he told me about the punishment Esme has devised for Emmett. He was forced into his reindeer outfit by Alice, and paraded around the highway near the turnoff to the house. He did so for over an hour, until Charlie arrived and blew him out for holding up traffic.

"Hmmm. I really would've liked to see that. Too bad I was asleep."

Alice came prancing down the stairs, grinning mischievously.

"That's okay, Bella. I got it all on tape!"

Somewhere in the house, I heard Emmett groan loudly.

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**A/N: So like it? Or hate it? Review so I could know.**

**Next:**** The Cullens have fun with a Christmas tree....**

**If you want it, review!**


	6. Tree Trimming Trouble

**A/N: Hi everybody! I finally finished another chapter. School sucks. I'm really busy. **

**Please tell me if you like it. I really need motivation to finish the story with my hectic schedule : )**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If I did, Edward would be tutoring me right now on Advanced Mathematics……**

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Chapter 6-Tree Trimming Trouble

**EPOV**

"Let's get that one"

"No! It's not tall enough."

"But the one you want isn't wide enough"

Okay. This was getting really irritating now. Jasper and Emmett were arguing over a _tree. What_ did it matter anyway? A tree was a tree. Apparently, _they_ didn't think so.

We were on the top of the mountain. Our family had decided to get a Christmas tree for the first time so we could honor another of the holiday traditions: tree trimming with the family. However, the task of getting a tree wasn't as simple as it looked. Emmett, Jasper and Alice couldn't decide on one of the hundreds of trees in front of us. Carlisle and Esme were silent, letting their children choose. Rosalie just looked on, bored. I was highly annoyed. I wanted to go back home to Bella. She decided to check up on Charlie while we were out, but that was hours ago. We spent the entire half of the day up here and I was missing her tremendously. It was the longest I had gone without seeing her this week; even hunting took a shorter time.

"Guys, could we just pick one and get out of here?"

"Chill out, bro. Bella is still going to be alive when you get back. And we can't just _pick one. It's_ not a tree; it's _the_ tree. It has to be worthy of the name 'Christmas Tree'."

Huh. Could Emmett be any more irritating? Bella might still be alive, but who knew how much trouble she could get into without me there? Trouble was her middle name.

Luckily, Carlisle spoke before I could think of a snappy remark at Emmett's hundredth Bella-comment, or fling him into a tree.

"Why don't we let Bella decide? We don't seem to be getting anywhere on our own, and I'm sure she could do it faster. It doesn't matter what kind of tree we have, as long as Bella likes it."

Esme added her bit, too, making it final.

"Of course! That's a marvelous idea. We _are_ doing this for her, after all. Edward, why don't you go get her? We'll all wait here."

I could go to Bella now? Fantastic. Before she could finish the sentence, I was sprinting down the snow- covered mountain on my way to Bella's house. I was there in less than five minutes.

Her intoxicating scent hit me before I reached the door. Ah. I loved it, even though the burn in my throat was much stronger after being away from the smell of her blood for so long. It was just one of the things about Bella that made her so special to me.

I knocked softly on her door. I could ear her descending the stairs from her bedroom. Six seconds later, I was met with the sound of feet sliding down steps and a muffled 'oomph'. I assumed that Bella tripped again. The door opened and my angel flew into my arms, hugging me as tight as she could with her human strength.

"Hey, Edward!"

She pressed her face into my chest and I could hear her inhaling my scent deeply.

"Hello, love. Are you okay? I heard you fall just now."

I examined her hands for bruises and was relieved when I found none.

"It's nothing. I'm not hurt. Why did you take so long? How hard is it to get a tree? I missed you a lot."

I could feel the heat of her blush through my clothes. Another special trait of Bella's. Her beautiful blush.

"I missed you, too." Oh, if she only knew how much. "And apparently getting a tree _is_ hard. Emmett, Alice and Jasper couldn't make up their minds. We haven't picked one as yet. My parents and I think that you should be the one to choose, if you don't mind."

"It's okay. Where do we have to go?"

I gently helped her onto my back and soon after, we were back with my family.

"Hi, Bella!" Alice was as cheerful as ever. "Let's pick a tree!"

My siblings pulled Bella along, each showing her their preferred tree. In the end, however, she chose a completely different tree.

"That one's perfect," she exclaimed with a grin.

And it _was_ perfect. Not too short, tall, wide or thin. Just right. We cut down the tree and Emmett was given the task of taking it home while the rest of us went ahead.

Alice took Jasper shopping for tree decorations, since we had none. I hoped that he could rein her in, because her thoughts indicated that she was going on another all-out shopping spree.

Two hours later, though, it was evident that Alice could not be controlled when let loose in a mall. I was prepared to be surprised as I heard her stream of thoughts coming from the garage when she arrived home.

'Let's get ready to par-tay!' she thought. Party? I rolled my eyes. Only Alice could think of hanging ornaments on a tree as a party.

**BPOV**

I was at the Cullen house waiting for Alice to get home with Christmas decorations for the new tree, which I picked out earlier. Edward and I were lounging on the couch in his room, listening to music. Edward rolled his eyes at a thought I obviously could not hear.

"What is it?"

He did not go into an explanation.

"Alice. You'll see. She's home."

We went downstairs to meet her and decorate the tree. When we arrived in the living room, however, I froze. I was amazed to see at least twelve huge boxes, each able to hold a television, stacked on the carpet. Alice was bringing in yet another box. Wow. She had really overdone it this time. What on earth could possibly be in all those boxes? Surely we didn't need _that_ many decorations.

"Geeze, Alice. Did you buy the entire store's stock or something?"

I meant it as a joke, but she nodded seriously.

"Yup. I don't know if it's enough, though. I might have to get more.

She was kidding, right? I looked at Edward, to see whether she was joking or not.

"I think my sister has finally gone crazy. So, how do we begin? I don't know much when it comes to decorating a tree."

Edward looked to me for advice. That was a first. I'd forgotten how inexperienced they all were when it came to Christmas. I helped my mom to decorate the tree every year. Last Christmas, however, there was no tree. Edward had left, and with him, he took my heart and will to celebrate. Charlie sensed my mood and didn't bother with the festivities at home. Thinking of this made a ghost of past hurt flutter in my chest.

"Um, lights. I think."

My voice had a hint of sadness in it despite my best efforts, a thing that Edward detected right away.

"Bella, love, is there anything wrong?"

I didn't want to hurt him but he would know if I was lying. I was forced to share my thoughts. I did so grudgingly, and editing as much as possible.

"I'm okay. It's just that I remembered last Christmas. I didn't want to celebrate it. I didn't even bother to get a tree because of my state when, well, you know."

He instantly turned angry and I knew he was also hurt by the thoughts going through my head. He wasn't mad at me, though. All of it was directed at himself.

"I was a fool, Bella. I hate how much that time hurt you, how much _I_ hurt you. I forgot that I was away for Christmas. Time meant nothing to me. I didn't mean to ruin your holiday, though. I'm really sorry. I don't deserve to have you here with me, but I can't bear to think of you leaving."

"Edward. Stop right there. I'm not going anywhere and you definitely deserve me. It is I who doesn't deserve you. It's okay now. Let's just have fun. I have you here with me this Christmas, and that's all that matters to me."

"You have me here forever."

He embraced me tightly and I was seconds away from kissing him when Emmett and the rest of the family joined us in the living room, effectively interrupting. I stepped away, thoroughly embarrassed.

Emmett opened all the boxes and found the lights for me. I showed them how to string them onto the tree evenly and in a much less time than it would have taken me, the tree was filled with red and white tree lights. Jasper offered to turn them on so we could make adjustments before adding decorations.

Jasper approached the electric socket with the plug, but before we had time to admire the twinkling lights, the plug was pulled out as a spark touched his hand, which still held the plug.

" What the hell!"

He got shocked again as the lights went back on. Apparently, a vampire's skin conducted electricity for some weird reason. The result: Jasper was electrocuted by Christmas lights. At least he couldn't die like a human. The thought was so funny I had to work to keep my face composed. Everyone else checked to make sure that Jasper was all right and we resumed the tree trimming.

Next to go up were the crystal imitation popcorn strings, keeping with tradition and flavored with a Cullen twist. It went well, until I entangled Edward in the strings. He tried to get out of it and ended up more bound by the fake food. Since I was the cause of his predicament, it was my duty to set him free. It took forever but we were finally able to remove the strands from around his body and string them on their rightful place on the tree. My favorite part was sitting on Edward's legs to undo some particularly stubborn knots over his chest. Judging by the look on his face, he enjoyed it too. The popcorn sparkled like the Cullens' skin in the sun, light bouncing off their many angles.

We proceeded to put up the ball ornaments. They were absolutely gorgeous. Alice definitely had excellent taste in Christmas decorations. I bounced back and forth between one of the boxes and the tree, hanging each bulb carefully in the spaces with precision. The entire family was sharing my enthusiasm for the project, humming various songs as they filled the tree with decorations.

Of course, being the most accident-prone person in the world, something had to go wrong. I was so focused on not breaking anything that I tripped over my own feet and went diving into the opened box of bulb ornaments. Thankfully, the decorations were so carefully packed that none broke. I also got a cushioned landing. Edward fished me out of the box by my waist, blushing as red as a rose in embarrassment. Everyone found this really funny, including me. It was hard to be irritated with the festive atmosphere around me.

We were almost finished. Then Emmett decided to make a fool out of himself. Or maybe he was just being Emmett. The silly vampire pranced around the room with golden bells on his ears like earrings and a miniature Christmas hat decoration on his head, singing 'Jingle Bell Rock' at the top of his lungs. Totally off tune, if I might add. Oh well. The holidays brought this about in some people.

Ah. Finally! The tree was almost complete. Only the finishing touch to add. The crown of glory for ant Christmas tree: the star. I was ecstatic when Esme made the next announcement.

"Bella, dear. We were talking earlier and my family and I would like to offer you the honor of putting up the star. We think you should, since you are the newest member of the Cullen Family and we owe you so much for making Edward so happy."

Edward beamed at this.

" True. I never felt more happy in my entire existence."

"Are you sure you want _me_ to do it? What if I break it?"

"Not to worry, Bella. Alice saw a vision of the tree with a star on it. And we are positive that you should put up the star."

Edward hoisted me up so I could stand on his shoulders to get the necessary height. I was nervous as I went up so high, but the next moment I was hit with a wave of calm, courtesy Jasper. I shot him a grateful smile. I stretched higher and higher….

There. The star was up in all its glory. I was relieved.

This was short-lived, though, because a second later I lost my balance I tried to grab the tree for support and almost brought it down on me. I did, however go crashing down onto Edward's shoulders, forcing him to the floor. I ended up sprawled over his chest in his arms. He refused to let me up, holding on tightly as I lay on him on the floor. He appeared to be oblivious to his family around us, some looking concerned, some trying not to burst out laughing. Emmett cleared his throat as a reminder. Edward reluctantly allowed me to move, rising gracefully up from the floor.

The first ever Cullen Christmas tree was complete. Everyone surrounded the tree in the middle of the room, marveling their handiwork. The tree towered over me, sparkling and tinkling in perfection. It was a tree fit for a vampire. Edward wrapped his arms around me as we spent the rest of the night with the family admiring the green, jeweled giant of a tree, and recounting the funny moments of the afternoon. I couldn't be happier.

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**A/N: So? How was it? I know Christmas is over but I don't care. I'm still feeling festive.**

**Next: Esme tries her hand at some Christmas cooking…....Will Bella live to tell the tale?**

**Review if you want more! (I'm not kidding. I live for reviews) Please?????**


	7. Cookies or Catastrophes?

**A/N: Hi! It's been a while. School and sleep deprivation got in the way but I finally finished another chapter. I was very disheartened by the low response I got for the last chapter, so I had no motivation to continue. But I decided I still owed it to the few who actually DID review so here it is :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If I did Edward would be trying to persuade me to sleep instead of writing so late at night…**

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Chapter 7: Cookies or Catastrophes?

**BPOV**

"Mmmm………"

I was awakened at sunrise to the most delicious aroma. Apart from Edward's scent, that is. Edward was lying on the bed next to me, his arms wrapped around me like a protective but gentle cage as I snuggled into his cold shoulder. He waited for my brain to fully shake off its sleepy thought mode. When it did, though, I realized what the smell cane from.

Food. Human food, not vampire.

"Good morning, love".

"Morning. Um…Edward? Why do I smell human food downstairs when I'm here and you're not cooking? Did someone come while I was sleeping? Or maybe…Am I dreaming?"

Edward chuckled, sending vibrations through his arm to my head resting on it.

"No, my dear Bella. You are not dreaming. How come I always have to assure you of this? Or is it that you have a habit of dreaming while your eyes are wide open? " I ignored his comment. It was not insulting coming from him while his hypnotic topaz eyed were locked on mine. And besides, that was not the answer to my question. He read my confusion and the impatience in my eyes.

"Maybe you'd like to see for yourself. It is pretty unusual, given the circumstances."

He flashed a wide grin. Circumstances. What an interesting way to put it, the fact that they were all vampires. I was very intrigued now, though. I leapt up from the bed, a bit unbalanced due to the quick movement. Luckily, Edward steadied me before I could fall. He led me down the stairs to the kitchen, where the smell intensified drastically. The scene that met me would not have been out of the ordinary in any other house, or if it were a stranger to the family's secret who was witnessing it. To me, though, it was just _strange_.

Esme and Alice were bustling around the kitchen. Both were a sight to behold. Flour clung to their hair and clothes, including new snowflake-print aprons tied around them. Esme was mixing something at a quick human pace in a large silver bow, a peaceful expression on her face. Alice's hands were filled with little packets of sprinkles in all imaginable colors, at least five different types of chocolate and an icing bag. She looked as excited as if she were shopping. The kitchen counter was a mess of raw ingredients. What on earth were they doing? Alice dropped everything in her hands and ran over to me as soon as I reached the doorway.

" Hi Bella. It's a little early for you to be awake, isn't it? We wanted to be finished before you came down."

"Finished with what, exactly?"

"We're baking Christmas cookies!"

Oh. I could smell it a lot better now, so I could place the scent.

"Homemade gingerbread cookies? That's my favorite!"

I remembered Christmas spent with my mother when I was a child. We used to bake for the entire day before Christmas. My favorite part was decorating the gingerbread cookies.

"We found another Christmas tradition to do, but it doesn't make sense unless you try out the food because it would taste horrible to us anyway. One batch is almost finished. Why don't you wait another five minutes and then come back?"

I did as I was told; Edward led me to the couch in the living room. I rested my head in his lap as he played with tendrils of my hair. I was now beginning to feel the effects of waking up so early. I drifted off to sleep almost immediately. However, I was awakened soon after to some commotion in the kitchen. I went to investigate.

"Edward, what's going on?"

He didn't have to answer, though. We had entered the kitchen and the cause of all the fuss was apparent. Esme's cookies were burnt to a crisp. The blackened shapes rested in the pan, letting out dark steam.

"What happened in here?

From what I could understand of the chatter, the oven was simply set to a much higher temperature than necessary. Esme was staring at her attempt at baking, muttering sorrowfully.

"We're sorry, Bella. We'll try again."

" You don't have to do this. We could just co out and buy some. Besides, who needs cookies anyway?"

"Don't be absurd, Bella. We want to make them. And where's the fun in buying cookies? Now that we know what not to do, I'm positive that the next batch we make would come out much better"

They would hear nothing of my protests. They went back to work immediately, refusing to let me help them. Edward kept me company until I was called back for my role as cookie tester. I had to hand it to them, those cookies looked amazing. They weren't overdone by even a few minutes. I couldn't quite remember my mother's cookies smelling that way, though. They must've used a different recipe. Alice was impatient to know whether the cookies were a success or not.

"Come on, Bella. Taste it!"

I took one up just as the rest of Edward's siblings filed into the kitchen. I brought the cookie up to my mouth and bit off the gingerbread man's head ….

"Oh my goodness!"

I managed to get one sentence out before racing to the bathroom and spitting out what I had in my mouth. That was no cookie. It was a life threat. Edward followed me in and held my hair back, alarmed as I vomited over and over.

"Bella, are you okay?"

Edward looked on the verge of a panic attack. He waved his hand around frantically, trying to figure out how to make me feel better.

I groaned weakly in reply.

"I don't feel so well. Feels like food poisoning, although I don't think you would understand that at all. And I think I burnt my tongue. I'll be alright soon, so stop worrying."

He calmed a little, but the concerned look never left his face. I leaned against him, exhausted.

We went back to the kitchen a few minutes later to see Alice sitting cross-legged on the floor looking really confused. Esme just stood in the middle of the kitchen as still as a statue, face in her hands. She was clearly distraught; if she could've cried, she would.

She raised her head, took in my frail-looking form lifted in Edward's arms and let out a single dry sob.

"Bella, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you sick. I was just trying to do a normal human Christmas thing like I used to, but I don't thing it went well. I have no idea what went wrong, though. It looked like it was supposed to. I'm really sorry, dear"

"Esme, I'm fine. It wasn't your fault. You don' t have to do these things to make the holiday any more special. I get to spend it here with my new family, and that's all I could ever ask for. You've been like a mother to me in many ways, and for that I'm truly grateful."

She beamed at my statement and I was glad I could lift her from her depressed state.

" I would like to know, however, what you did with those cookies. If you followed the recipe, the only thing that could have gone wrong would be the texture but something was definitely off".

I'm not sure what I ate could be classified as a cookie.

"I think we did everything according to the book. We _did_ run out of sugar, though, but I found a bag in that cupboard that looked like sugar. And Alice added the eggs but she just told me that she thinks she forgot to remove the shell first."

That sounded a bit frightful to me, so I went to inspect the ingredients. I discovered that the milk was beginning to turn sour, they used pancake syrup instead of oil and to top it all off, their 'sugar' was actually salt! From the look of the bag, the cookie had enough salt to make a river have seawater. I told them this and their expression was horrifies when they heard of the mistakes they had made.

" Huh. I guess vampires can't cook, then. Blame it on the fact that we can't tell if the taste or smell is good or bad. I was hoping that by doing this, I could recall something from my past, but it was impossible. I can't remember the taste of human food or how it feels to stand in front of a stove to prepare something to eat. I can't even remember how it is to feel ill. I never even saw anybody as sick as you were before. This is all so _new_ to me."

I felt sorry for her. Esme had vague memories to work with, but Alice had no clue about human food. Well, since they wanted to do all this for me, the least I could do was to help them after all their effort.

"Who's up for another try at cooking?"

"Um, Bella? Weren't you witness to the past two hours? I don't think it will make a difference. We still can't tell if it will taste good and we don't want to take the chance of making you sick again."

"Your sense of smell won't change, but this time _I'll_ be in the kitchen, too.

"That sounds like a good idea. I'm in. Esme, are you willing to try again, or do you want to call it a day?"

"I'm in. Let's see if I still have a cooking hand."

That plan would've worked beautifully for cheering everyone up, but upon further examination, we discovered that most of the necessary ingredients were missing. In fact, the only edible things left in the house were marshmallows, sprinkles and cereal. Of all the days for the grocery to be closed, it was the one day I really needed to go. So much for that plan.

"I guess we can't bake anything after all. All we have is…wait. I have an idea! Did any of you ever roast marshmallows before?"

"Bella, what's Christmas-y about marshmallows?

Of course Alice didn't care about the fact that she couldn't eat them.

"Nothing, except the fact that the ones we have are shaped like Christmas trees and snowmen."

" Alright then. This will be fun. But hoe do you roast a marshmallow?"

Just then, Emmett burst into the kitchen, grinning wildly.

"Ooh! Did I hear marshmallow snowmen? Hey, try saying that fifty times fast!"

He proceeded to recite 'marshmallow snowmen' as fast as he could, jumping up and down as if he were skipping rope. By the time he was finished, my hands were over my ears.

"Are you done now?"

"No, unless I gat to roast some snow-vamps! Can I? Please, please, please?"

He was annoying me so much that I agreed just to get him to quiet down. After a few minutes of the news spreading through the house, roasting marshmallows became a family activity, even though the only one able to eat it was me.

Now. Everyone was lounging on plush cushions around the Cullen fireplace. The flames crackled merrily, casting a warm glow on the vampires; faces, I was pleased to see that the colors of the fire reflected on Edward's face made him look like ha was blushing. Everyone had wooden sticks in their hands, just like if we were camping. Marshmallows were passed around and then everyone looked to me for the next step. I couldn't believe they had never done this in their human life before.

I showed them what to do, sticking a snowman onto the stick and putting it over the flames. I almost dropped it, though, when Emmett jumped up from the floor, clutching his chest dramatically.

"Aargh! Bella, how can you be so cruel? You sent a stake through his heart!"

Huh? Emmett was such a goofball.

The rest of the bag was emptied in this manner, everyone cracking jokes and coming up with weird things to say. Edward was mostly silent, content to just sit with me on his lap and feed me his perfectly roasted marshmallows. My clumsiest moment came when I laughed too hard and the flaming snowman on my stick went rolling on the floor, nearly setting the carpet on fire. I think that was the most fun I ever had just roasting marshmallows. The Cullens sure made things interesting around the house with their bizarre attempts at doing Christmas the human way. What on earth would they think of next?

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**A/N: What **_**would**_** they think of next? I'm going to be mean and demand at least three reviews for the next chapter. :)**

**Please review! I need some motivation.**

**Next: Mistletoe comes back to haunt Edward…. Will he fall to his powerful leafy foe?**

**Review if you want the next chapter!**


	8. Mistletoe Mischief

**A/N: Hey everybody! It's been too long, but I managed to get some writing done during 5-minute breaks in between studying. So here's another chapter. Review. Please? And I would advise you to check the A/N at the end.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If I were that lucky, Edward would be here with me now…--looks around hopefully--No such luck. Sigh. Too bad…**

**Now on with the story!**

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Chapter 8: Mistletoe Mischief

**BPOV**

"Edward?"

I had woken up a full two minutes now and Edward hadn't noticed, although he was lying right next to me on the bed, arms wrapped snugly around me. I waved my hand in front of his face. Nothing. His visage remained fixed in a look of intense concentration, eyes blank and staring at some unknown spot on the wall, lips pursed. I had to admit, though. Edward lost in concentration was a really cute sight. His pursed lips looked utterly and deliciously kissable.

Aha! I knew what I could do to return his wandering mind to his body. I leaned in closer, inhaling his intoxicating scent, and pressed my lips to his. My arms wound around his neck and in less than a second, I could detect a response from him. The intense gaze of his smoldering topaz eyes fixed on my own and his hard, cold lips moved with mine. Before we could get too far into the kiss, though, he pulled away.

"Good Morning, love. I didn't realize that you were awake. I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven. Are you going to tell me what had you so distracted? You looked as far gone as Alice when she's having one of her visions. What is it? Is there a problem I should know about?"

I was honestly intrigued. Edward twisted his mouth into a loose scowl.

"It's nothing important. I think."

Think? Since when was Edward unsure about anything? I needed some clarification.

"You _think_?"

"I can't be positive at the moment. Alice is up to something secretive again and it sounds like it involves me. The problem is that she's blocking me from her thoughts by singing 'Jingle Bell Rock' in Portuguese. In fact, _all _of my siblings are thinking about Christmas Carols in different languages. Emmett's sounds like he's added quite a few swear words in there, too. Or maybe he translated wrong. One way or another, it's a pretty effective method. All I can get is flashes of green and red."

Edward sighed in frustration.

"Well, what if we go downstairs and just ask her what's going on? I need to eat breakfast anyway.

Half an hour later, I was fed and Edward was washing up my used dishes. He refused to let me help. Alice and the others were being as elusive as ever with their thoughts. Edward looked like he was about to crack. It was hard for him to not know things, seeing that everyone's mind was usually an open book. Except mine, of course.

We decided to go to the living room to plan our day. After all, Christmas was two days away. Soon my perfect vacation was going to end and any further time spent with Edward was going to be monitored by Charlie. There was no time to lose. Before we could reach the couch, though, Alice blocked us at the kitchen door, grinning from ear to ear. I was confused by her actions.

"What's the big idea, Alice?"

She just grinned wider and pointed at the doorframe above us. Huh? I shifted my gaze upward. A bunch of small leafy branches was attached to the ceiling, held in place by a fine string of curled silver ribbon. Red berries peeked through the green pointed leaves. It took me a half a minute to figure out what I was looking at. _Mistletoe_. I was standing under mistletoe at Christmas time with Edward, my fiancé, by my side. I grinned like Alice and reverted my gaze to Edward to see if he understood the meaning of the situation. To my surprise, he jumped back from the doorway as if standing there would electrocute him. A pained look crossed his face, then a grimace. This baffled me. What was wrong with mistletoe?

"Edward, what's the matter?"

"Nothing", he replied quickly. A little too quickly to be true. I may not be a good liar, but I was so attuned to Edward's reactions by now that I could tell when he was not being completely honest. Before I could ask him to tell the truth, though, Alice cut in, giggling.

"Bella, Edward is a bit paranoid when it comes to mistletoe. It's hilarious, really. He's been this way since one unforgettable Christmas about four decades ago. You see, Emmett-"

Edward quickly interrupted.

"That's enough, Alice. I'm sure she would rather not know about that particular incident. And it will do you good to keep it to yourself before I have to tear your head off and send Jasper to look for another wife."

Ok. Now I was more than just curious. What on earth were they talking about? And what was with the violent threats?

"Actually, Edward, I think I want to hear what Alice has to say. It sounds interesting."

"Are you sure?"

He asked this question as though he was wishing with all his might that I would just forget the matter altogether. Unfortunately for him, I was not going to let this one pass. He saw the pure curiosity in my eyes and sighed hugely. When he spoke again, it was in defeat.

"Fine. But I'd rather tell you myself than have you find out from the others. And I prefer not to have an audience."

He sent a pointed glare at Alice, who tried to protest.

"But _Edward_. You won't tell it as exciting as we could. And I want to see Bella's reaction when she finds out. That's one bit of entertainment I won't willingly miss!"

"Well, you'd better find the will because there is no way I'm telling her with you and Emmett butting in every moment to laugh at my expense."

Alice finally gave up and went to her room, probably looking into the future to see my reaction as a substitute for the missed show.

Edward grabbed me up in his arms and soon we were back in his bedroom.

"So. What's the big secret?"

Edward looked sheepishly at me and started hesitantly.

"Well..."

**EPOV**

I was resigned to the fact that I would have to tell one of my most embarrassing secrets to the love of my life. I knew that one day the evil leafy enemy of my past would come back to haunt my existence. I hesitated before deciding that I should never keep anything from my Bella, even though I might never live this down.

"Well, it's not really funny. A couple of decades ago at Christmas time, Alice decided to hang mistletoe all over the house. I had to put up with couples stopping and kissing in every doorway in the house. Emmett and Rosalie even decided to go far beyond kissing at the front door." I grimaced in remembrance of the lustful sights and thoughts I had to endure from their minds, before continuing. "I eventually had enough of the love around me. Remember, I had nobody to look forward to kissing at that time. I tried to lock myself in my room, but that didn't turn out well."

I winced at the thought of what came next in the story. Bella was staring at me attentively, waiting for me to finish relating the incident.

I looked into her adorable deep brown eyes for support to continue and got ensnared by her gaze. And she accused _me_ of dazzling?

"Why? What happened next?" She was as inquisitive as ever.

"Emmett trapped me at the door and held me down. He was trying to provoke me so I would wrestle with him, even though I refused the past fifty timed he asked. Then Alice appeared and produced yet another bough of mistletoe from her clothes pockets."

I remembered what happened next as clearly as if it had happened five hours ago, rather than decades. Emmett had pinned me to the floor while I thrashed wildly to escape. Alice's laughter and the noise we created, of course, just _had_ to attract all the other members of my family. Emmett held my face still and _kissed_ me! Jasper thought it would be funny to send us concentrated waves of lust at that moment….

"Please don't laugh at this. To put it simply, Emmett kissed me while the entire family witnessed."

Oh, damn. Emmett had heard me retelling the story and decided to put his two-cents in from behind the locked door. He shouted loud enough for Bella to hear.

"Bella! He's not telling it right! He kissed me back! More like assaulted, actually. Ask him if he enjoyed it. He was getting _way_ into the kiss. I think we even went further than you ever got with him. Rose had to pull him off me and remind him that I was already taken. That's why everyone in the family thought he was _gay_!"

Emmett finished this story with a mental picture for my benefit; He was planning to run after me for the rest of the day with mistletoe in his hand, making kissing-noises.

I was going to _kill_ him! Bella was blushing furiously as Emmett's words sunk in. If vampires were able to blush, I would be redder than she was. It was mortification to the extreme.

"That's not true, Bella. Emmett is just being an idiot. Jasper hit me with lust and I couldn't fight it. I am in no way gay. And for Emmett's information, I did _not_ enjoy a single millisecond of that experience. I spent the rest of the day in the river to get Emmett's odor off my face."

With that confession, my adorable angel burst into musical uncontrolled laughter, although I requested her to refrain from doing so. Her porcelain frame shook gently and I couldn't resist gathering her up in my lap and laughing with her. Humor was much more welcome than embarrassment at the moment.

"It's quite okay, Edward. I knew you weren't gay. I think I need to have a little chat with Emmett, though. I don't like the thought of sharing you with him. But I don't see why you would have a problem with kissing _me_ under the mistletoe. Maybe I could get you to see the good side of mistletoe?"

She grinned mischievously. I nodded, wanting to see what she would do. _Was_ there a good side to mistletoe? I highly doubted it.

Bella pulled me down the stairs and we went over to the front door, where another sprig of mistletoe hung innocently. She stared at me and I got lost in the warm gaze of my angel's eyes. I leaned closer to her, and she tiptoed to get better access. Her warm lips molded around my cold ones as I kissed her passionately, conveying all the love I felt for the magnificent woman in my arms. Her delicate arms locked around my neck, slim fingers gliding through my hair. This elicited a small involuntary moan from my lips. I could hear her heart fluttering wildly and also realized that she was not breathing. I unwillingly pulled my lips away from hers, so she could get oxygen, chastising myself for forgetting her human needs. I had to be more alert than this; I did not need my lovely fiancée fainting in my arms. It would not be healthy for her.

"Breathe, love"

She sucked in a huge breath in surprise, causing me to shudder slightly. Oh, what this woman did to me, she'll never fully understand.

I moved my kisses to her neck to allow her enough time to catch her breath. I could feel the pulse of her alluring blood on my lips, but it did not bother me. I would never do anything to harm Bella in any way. The very thought was inconceivable and ridiculous. I paused in my path up her smooth neck to whisper to her.

" Bella?"

"Hmmm…."

"You were right. Mistletoe definitely has a good side, as long as I'm under it with you."

Christmas was fast becoming my favorite holiday…………..

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**A/N: Sooo…Watcha think???? I really need some reviews to finish the story. Only one more chapter to go! **

**I've noticed that many of you are putting this story as a favorite or on story alert but nobody is reviewing. It doesn't take more than a minute to review and tell me why you like/don't like the story. It was disappointing to see the feedback from the last chapter. I didn't get the three reviews I begged for. Didn't you like it?**

**As a result, I'm going to insist on at least five reviews stating whether I should even bother to post the next chapter. If nobody wants it, I'm going to keep it to myself.**

**Coming up next chapter (if you convince me that you really want it): The Cullens go Caroling on Christmas Eve. Will Bella's eardrum ever recover from Emmett's singing? …**

**If you wanna see it, review, review, review, review, review, review, review!!!!!!!!**


	9. The Cullen Caroling Choir

**A/N: Hi again, everybody!!!! I was finally able to steal some time for myself so I could finish this chapter. Here it is. Hope you enjoy it. Please review!**

**Thanks to all reviewers for my last chapter who ensured that I did not keep this chapter to myself. You guys are awesome. I got, like, three times the number I asked for in the first day!**

**Disclaimer: I do not, never did, and never will own Twilight. If I were that lucky, Edward would be here with me now--looks around hopefully--No such luck. Sigh. Too bad…**

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Chapter 9: The Cullen Caroling Choir

**BPOV**

I woke up groggily to feel a cool breeze blowing on the back of my neck. Only when ice-cold lips replaced the breeze did I realize that it was actually the breath of my personal God. He placed a sweet kiss right under my ear and exhaled once more, causing me to shudder delightedly. Edward chuckled at this and I turned around in his arms to see his perfect face. A warm smile was etched there and his eyes blazed with love; the sheer beauty of it stunned me. It was not often that his emotions could be seen so clearly; he usually hid them from the world.

"Good morning, love. Happy…Christmas Eve?

He placed a chaste kiss on my lips, and for once I didn't try to push him further. That one small kiss held so much love that nothing more was needed. It reminded me of the previous day and our various mistletoe encounters. After the first kiss, Edward was quite willing to be under the mistletoe and, as a result, by the time night fell we had visited every single doorway in the house. I blushed as I remembered, because Emmett hadn't stopped teasing us for our increased public displays of affection, earning quite a few growls from my fiancé in my defense.

"Morning, Edward. How was your night? And I think people usually wait for Christmas Day to extend greetings." I smiled; he could be so charming in his unusual ways, though, and I loved him more for it.

"Well, for one I'd like to point out that normal people are not engaged to vampires. Secondly, would you please tell me what you were thinking earlier before I go crazy? And thirdly, my night was wonderful. I love being able to hold you as you sleep. You look so peaceful and relaxed. Also, your dreams are quite interesting love. Your sleep-talking last night enabled me to clearly imagine what you were dreaming about, even though your mind is restricted from me, I assume it pertained to the last few days you spent here with me? If it wasn't though, I'd like to know who you were talking about when you said ' you…me…mistletoe…delicious' and 'Santa, gift wrap him for me. That body's all mine'."

Oh my goodness. I said all that? If my face was red before, it had nothing on the deep shade it was now turning. My dreams last night _were_ about Edward, I just didn't want to accept that he'd heard all those embarrassing things I said. I was mortified. Edward just stared at me curiously, waiting for an answer and showing no intention of making fun of me. If Emmett had heard that, though, I would hear no end to it. I tried resisting Edward's hypnotic gaze, but it overpowered me within seconds and then I spilled a very vivid description of my latest dreams.

"Bella, you are…wow. I wish I could dream too. These dreams of yours are quite enjoyable. How I wish I could see what you're thinking. Your mind seems like a very colorful place. And I am glad you wanted to, uh…gift-wrap me? I would make that mistletoe dream of yours into reality so I wasn't asked, but unfortunately Alice decided to take them down and hide them. Esme has plans for all of us today and Alice' visions indicated that the mistletoe was just too distracting. You shouldn't be embarrassed, though. You should never be embarrassed to tell me anything; I will love you regardless. Truthfully, I sometimes find myself thinking of you in that way, too. And I'm fully conscious so I have no excuse.

More blood rushed to my face as he said those last statements. I wondered what Esme could be planning for us on Christmas Eve, and silently mourned the loss of the mistletoe. As if he could read my mind, after a few minutes more of holding each other in our arms, Edward suggested that we go downstairs for Esme's family meeting. Even he had no idea what she was planning.

We strolled downstairs after I got dressed, to see everyone in the living room, waiting for us. A warm driftwood fire crackled with colorful flames in the fireplace, even though the low winter temperature remotely bothered none of the room's occupants. As we arrived, Alice muttered 'finally' and Emmett burst into laughter. He pointed at me with one hand and slapped his thigh repeatedly with the other.

"Bella! Have you been a good girl this year? Because the only way Santa's going to gift-wrap my brother is if you behaved yourself. Although what I heard about some 'mistletoe activities' seriously contradicts that!"

Damn those vampires and their ridiculous advanced hearing. Will the humiliation _never end_? First the snow-vampires, then the skating and now _this_. Emmett, absorbed in his laughing fit, keeled over from his place on the couch and landed with a loud thud on the floor. He continued to roll around laughing and sounding like a bear choking. If I remembered correctly, that was exactly how he'd said Edward sounded before the first baseball game. In my opinion, though, Edward's laughter was much sweeter, Emmett's just made me want to hit him with a baseball bat, not that it would do any harm to him. Esme, sensing my mortification as I hid my face in Edward's chest, quickly put a stop to Emmett's childish behavior.

" That's enough, Emmett. Stop being so mean to your brother's fiancée. It's rude. Besides, I'd like to explain to everyone why I called this little meeting. Firstly, Bella dear, I'd like to thank you for spending the holidays with us. I'm delighted by the change you brought about in Edward; I think this is the happiest I've ever seen my son around this time of year. Also, I've never felt more like a real family at Christmas time than now. The entire family has bonded much more closely in the past few days and we all have you to thank for that, Bella. However, I wanted to do something special today, if you would all consent. Doing all of these human things for the past few days has triggered some of my human memories, and I remembered one tradition of my past family. I would like our family to go caroling this Christmas Eve, if everyone is willing."

Caroling? I could barely manage to carry a tune for the _alphabet_! However, everyone else agreed enthusiastically, except Edward, who looked to me for my decision. I was so _not_ going to be pulled into this!

"Bella, I'm sure Esme considers you a part of our family, as do I. We would all appreciate it greatly if you joined us for another family holiday tradition, especially me."

He looked to me hopefully and I became entranced by the mesmerizing topaz gems shimmering below long eyelashes. I was thoroughly dazzled as I gazed at him, and nothing else existed. His perfect pale lips were moving now, but I was too lost in his eyes to hear. Finally he realized what he was doing to me and quickly closes his eyes.

"Bella, do you want to go caroling with my family? With me?"

Well, when he put it that way, how could I refuse? Besides, I could tell he really wanted to do it.

"Fine. But I'll have you know that the only reason I'm going is because I don't want to be away from you on Christmas Eve."

One of his trademark grins broke across his face and everything but Edward was forgotten at that moment.

********************

The sun went down and the Cullens were finally able to begin caroling. Thanks to Alice the evil shopping-pixie, we were all clad in the costumes she bought at the mall a few days ago. Since we started, we covered half the houses in Forks. Eventually I got tired of walking around with them so Edward carried me in his arms. It must've been quite a sight seeing a Nutcracker singing with a Christmas Angel in his arms. I had mixed feelings about this tradition so far. Not all of it was what you expected to see on Christmas Eve….

First of all, most of the people were shocked to see us when they opened the door. Nobody expected to see Dr. Cullen and his rich, reclusive family caroling like any normal family. There was also the fact that we were all ridiculously dressed in Christmas outfits. I felt sorry for Jasper and Edward, though. Their costumes were the worst. But they had no other choice than to wear them because Jasper was threatened with a year of shopping trips with his diabolical wife. Said wife also planned to wreck Edward's Vanquish, Volvo _and _music system. My attempts to spare him the humiliation of the costume or the wrath of his sister were met with other threats to my sanity and my life…

"Alice, can't you give Edward a break? He is hiding in his closet and refusing to let me see him in the silly thing you call an outfit. I think, for his sake I should stay home, and then he'll decide to stay with me and we will be free to wear whatever we want.

"Bella, how can you even think of not going with us? Without Edward we can't sing anything properly and then tonight will be ruined for Esme. And those amazing outfits deserve to be worn at least once or I'll take it as a personal insult. Don't you love me, Bella?"

Ugh. If Alice could bottle her skills at making people guilty, we'd have a weapon of mass destruction on our hands.

"Isn't there _anything_ I can do to make you change your mind?" I was desperate now.

"Bella, this answer is final. Either you and Edward show up with those outfits on or I'll carry out my threats to his belongings, plus you will be forced to go shopping for a year and your choices of shoes during this time will be nothing less than three-inch heels."

After _that_ threat, I made sure to have Edward and myself dressed and waiting for Alice in nutcracker and angel outfits. Heels were one thing I did _not_ mess around with as long as I valued my life.

The Cullens' singing was another thing altogether. Each of them had a different style of singing and when they sang together the melody blended perfectly, as long as Emmett kept his mouth shut. Hearing Edward singing was absolutely breath- taking. This was the first time he'd ever sung in front of me; he always hummed my lullaby. The sound was…there were no words to describe it. Edward's voice was pure, clear and flawless. He even managed to make 'Jingle Bells' sound sexy. As soon as the first song was over, Edward glanced at me to determine my reaction to his singing, As if his singing could be considered anything but sheer perfection. I just stood there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot in shock and awe throughout the entire song until he chuckled amusedly and closed it with one finger before placing a swift kiss on my jaw. Alice's voice was like pealing bells in harmony and Rosalie's was just as amazing as her looks. She lost no time in flaunting her beautiful singing for the neighbors.

Emmett was the one exception to this family of wonderful singers. I don't think I ever heard a more horrible singer in my life, and this was coming from someone who never even bothered trying to sing for fear of breaking all the glass within a two mile radius. Edward teased him, saying that his tone-deafness from his human life had been amplified. This didn't stop Emmett from shouting out the words to various Christmas carols too, though. He accompanied his family in singing until someone threw a soggy snowball at his head and ordered him to shut up so they could hear the music. After this, he decided to do solo routines. He pranced around in his reindeer costume, complete with a red nose and antlers, and acted out the entire Rudolph song while singing it.

Then he decided to deviate from tradition and began to rap-out the popular carols, adding his own lyrics as he saw fit. I tried not to laugh during his performance so the townsfolk could take it the wacky scene he made. I couldn't help myself when we got to Mike's house, though. He came out of his house to watch Emmett's little show, while eating a sandwich. However, while Emmett was singing 'Jingle Bell Rock' he added a few dance moves, one of which caused Mike to swallow a bite of his sandwich mid-laugh. The result was a choking crimson-faced Mike who later tried to hide his embarrassment by stalking back into the house and promptly slid on the ice to land flat on his behind. I didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned as his face screwed up in an expression between indignant, furious and surprised. In the end, I had to be supported in Edward's arms after almost collapsing from laughing so much I forgot to breathe. My amusement quickly dissipated, however because then I slipped on the ice and flew towards the sidewalk. Emmett, in a stroke of inspiration, started to sing to the Rudolph tune:

"_Bella, the red-faced human has some very clumsy toes,_

_Whenever she tries walking, the ground comes up to greet her nose._

_Eddie my lame vamp brother is this world's biggest pr-"_

"Emmett, finish that sentence and Rosalie and you would no longer need to spend time in your bedroom."

Emmett, knowing that Edward would carry out the threat to his masculinity if provoked, wisely changed his object of humiliation from us to Jasper and his costume. It didn't stop me from figuring out what Emmett was going to say, though, and my face reddened.

One of our last stops during the night was the Police Station. Charlie was on alert for any pranks played by mischievous teenagers. We decided to visit, since I'd be spending my entire day tomorrow with the Cullens. Thanks to Alice's visions, we were warned to keep Emmett restrained before he brought the entire station crumbling to the ground. Without his wild antics, the Cullen carolers were like a choir of singers, or a choir of singing angels in horrible costumes to be more specific, and they got quite a few requests to sing at the community's annual Christmas party.

After three hours of constant singing, laughing and chatting with neighbors, the Cullens were back home. Edward had excused himself hurriedly five minutes ago and was nowhere to be seen. In fact, I had a feeling that all the Cullens were in the same state at the moment, due to an unforeseen side effect of caroling: Christmas food. As much as they protested, the villagers would hear no excuses and the vampires were forced to eat human food at more than half-dozen houses. I pitied them greatly; according to Edward, the removal process of was not a pretty sight.

I used the free time to look back on the previous days and was sure that they were some of the best of my life; they were definitely the best days of the Christmas holidays that I could remember. Not too long after, Edward returned to his bedroom, without the Nutcracker outfit and in a considerably better mood that when he left…

**EPOV**

I am convinced that there is no worse feeling than having a full stomach of indigestible food sloshing around inside you. My family's thoughts around me were echoes of this opinion.

'_Yuck. I'd rather drink rat blood than go through this again'_.

If Emmett only knew just how horrible rat blood tasted, he wouldn't even be giving this a thought…

'_Wow. This feels like morning sickness all over again. He must've really loved her in that cafeteria at school of he willingly ingested pizza. I am so happy for them…'_

Of course Esme would find something positive to think even in her current situation, and she was right; I _did_ love Bella even way back then in that crowded cafeteria.

'_Edward, if you're hearing this bro., you must be one hell of a brave person. Everyone else is sending out distress waves and from you all I get is impatience and love. I just hope your love is for Bella and not the revolting crap we're all coughing up right now…'_

I felt sorry for Jasper. He had to handle seven times the disgust at the food as everyone's moods bombarded him.

I rid my body of the disgusting human food as quickly as possible so I would be able to get back to my Bella. In a few minutes I was back at her side, where I wanted to remain for all eternity. I recognized the look on her face instantly and couldn't prevent myself from asking the reflex question for when she was deep in thought.

"What are you thinking, love?"

Apparently she was not expecting me to arrive so soon, because she jumped slightly at the sound of my voice.

"Oh, hey. You seem to be in a better mood than before. I was just remembering the things that happened over the past few days. I hope I don't lose these particular memories when I change. If I do, you'll have to remind me about them because I don't want to forget the best Christmas vacation ever."

She tried to stifle the yawn that spewed from her beautiful lips in her hand, but I was not fooled.

"Time to sleep, love. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day, it being Christmas Day and all. We can talk tomorrow but I would prefer if you didn't sacrifice your strength at this time to talk with me."

She must have been extremely tired because without complaining her body relaxed into my chest, which she assured me was a much more desirable pillow than any on the bed.

I stiffened for a fraction of a second as new, but not unfamiliar thoughts reached me. Bella jumped, startled, as a loud cacophony of howls reached her ears a few seconds later.

"Edward, what the hell is all that racket about?"

I chuckled, wondering what she'd say if I told her the truth. I decided not to, though.

"It's nothing, Bella. Just some dogs with nothing better to do. Go to sleep, my love."

I hummed her lullaby and soon she was veiled in the peacefulness of deep slumber. Somewhere in the night, Quileute wolves howled their tribute to the Christmas holiday.

**Wolf POV**

We were running the night shift on Christmas Eve when another brother joined us with some entertaining news.

'_Did you hear that the bloodsuckers went caroling?'_

'_How very human of them. Always trying to fit in where they shouldn't be'_

'_I heard them at the station. They sounded pretty good to me.'_

'_Oh, please. As if a leech could beat us in singing.'_

_Do you think we can project our voices as far as their house?'_

'_I'm sure we could. Why? What's the plan?'_

'_Let's show them what real singing is about!'_

'_Get a load of this music, parasites!'_

With that last thought, we joined our voices, wolf voices of course, and began to sing 'Deck the Halls' at the top of our lupine lungs.

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**A/N: Sooo….Liked it? Hated it? I need to know!! **

**The last part could be from any wolf's POV(except Jake since he's still missing in this story) I do NOT hate the wolves! That's why I gave them a guest appearance.**

**I don't like Mike, though, so I loved making a fool of him.**

**Also, I couldn't resist doing Edward's POV one last time. Those of you who know the crazy order I wrote the chapters in would understand that I basically wrote the last bit of this story I'll ever write in Edward's POV.**

**I WOULD like a few more reviews on this story to know what you think of this chapter and the story as a whole, so feel free to comment. More that 10 this time, please? Or is that pushing my luck? I have some V.I. info to post so I would do that as a separate A/N.**

**Reviews make me feel loved as a writer soo….**

**My final words for this chapter are…review! review! review! review! review! review!**


	10. A Christmas Day to Remember

**A/N:So here's the last chapter!(in the unedited version i posted ch 10 before ch 5-9)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. If I did Edward would change me into a vampire and I would run away from school for the next decade…. :-)**

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Chapter 10: A Christmas Day to Remember

**BPOV**

" Wake up! Wake up!". An ice-cold pixie-vampire bounced me out of my sleep-induced stupor. I groaned. There wasn't even a hint of sunlight to be seen in the sky outside the glass wall.

"Ugh! Alice, what the hell! Why are you waking me at…." I glanced at the clock display on Edward's CD player screen, "…five o' clock in the morning!"

"Good morning to you too, Bella. Merry Christmas! You were sleeping fro too long. Now, get up and come downstairs. We're all waiting for you."

She darted out of the room before I could register half of what she said.

"Merry Christmas, love." Edward was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching me. "Sorry, I couldn't stop her this time. Are you ready to go downstairs, or do you need some more sleep?"

Sleep? I couldn't go back to bed even if I tried. It was Christmas morning! I had all the excitement expected for the holiday, even if I were not a little child. _And _this was the first Christmas day I had with Edward by my side.

"Merry Christmas, Edward!" I swiftly sat up, ignoring the dizziness from the sudden movement, to wrap my hands around his cool neck and kiss him passionately, pouring out all my love for him in that simple gesture. I didn't give him time to recover. I slid out of bed and pulled him out of the room.

"Let's go!"

Before I could place one foot on the step, Edward had me in his arms and rushed down at vampire speed. I guess I wasn't the only one eager today. As we turned into the living room, a chorus of "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" met our ears. The entire family was there, seated on the floor around the Christmas tree.

Edward didn't place me on my feet when we reached them. It was a good thing because I probably would have collapsed from shock anyway. Every single one of them was in pajamas! And not ordinary ones, either. Why did they even have those outfits? It's not as if they _slept_ anyway. Carlisle and Esme wore plain sets, with tops and long bottoms, ordinary except that they were bright red and had white fluffy trimming. They looked like Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Alice and Rosalie wore short green satin skirt-pants and strapped sparkly green tops. They looked amazing, even rivaling the Christmas tree. To top it off, they had elf hats complete with huge bells. Jasper's were pretty normal, but striped diagonally with red, green and white like a giant candy-cane. Emmett was…. Yikes! Emmett decided to wear a pale green set with tumbling snowmen on it and a gigantic red Santa hat with white hair stuck to the bottom. It looked like he even went through the trouble to detail every one of the snowmen with red _fangs. _Classic Emmett, he just _had_ to go off and do something unusual. Once the initial surprise wore off, I burst into laughter. My eyes watered and I collapsed into Edward's arms, giggling.

"What is it, love?"

I could only get one word past the laughter.

"Clothes!"

"What's wrong with that? Humans usually gather around the tree on Christmas morning in their night-clothes so we thought we'd uphold the human tradition."

It was only at that moment I realized that Edward was also in pajamas. His were plain, gold and very comfortable to the touch. Oh my goodness. I never thought Edward could make something as simple as pajamas look so…._ sexy_. I was distracted enough not to notice that I was staring at him open-mouthed until he whispered my name.

"Bella, are you alright? I can go back and change if you don't like it."

What? No way.

" No. Don't even think about it. I like you in these clothes. I like them _a lot._"

"I think I do too. Very comfortable. But I think our family is waiting for us while you got lost thinking about my pajamas."

Oh. I completely forgot about them. I turned back to the family as Edward set me on my feet, blushing as red as Esme's clothes.

"Merry Christmas to you all, too."

Everyone chuckled. Emmett was the first to talk.

"Can we open our presents now?" his face was as enthusiastic as a five-year old being told that Santa had visited. Any child would have been excited upon seeing the stack of presents under and around the tree. There were enough boxes to cover the entire floor of my room if laid side by side. Suddenly, my presents to them looked insignificant.

Edward saw the momentary sadness that flew across my face before I could mask it.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Let's open presents!"

I knew he wouldn't see things my way so I pretended to be enthusiastic, too. It worked. For now, anyway.

Despite my protests that I wanted no presents from Edward's family, I had lots of presents. I lost count after box number twenty. I couldn't say that I didn't like the presents, either. Alice got me enough clothes to fill two of my wardrobes. A lot of it looked like my preferred style, too. I knew how much it probably pained her to ignore the fancier clothing in favor of my type, which were definitely simple. I also noticed that a lot of it was blue. Rosalie told me that she upgraded my truck to go faster as well as a few other comfort additions. At long as my truck was functional, I had no objections. Emmett gave me a bobsled with a helmet. Very funny. I was sure, though, that Edward and I could have some fun with it while the snow lasted. Jasper, knowing my preferences in books, gave me a copy of one of my favorite classics from the first edition printing. This was very valuable and I swore to keep it safe for the rest of my existence. Carlisle gave me a fully stocked jeweled First Aid kit so I can be prepared for the next mishap wherever I go. Judging by the number of times I fell these past few days, it was a very welcome gift. Edward approved, too. Esme gave me a beautiful blue sweater with silver snowflakes that she had knitted herself.

Edward's gift was a little box wrapped in gold gift paper. I opened it to find a short note in his personal calligraphy:

'_My beloved Bella, _

_You shall get my gift later. _

_It's a surprise. _

_I'm sure you'll enjoy it._

_Love,_

_Yours for all eternity, _

_Edward."_

I raised my eyebrow at him. He knew what I thought about surprises. He just shrugged, refusing to let me in on his secret. I would wait until later to give him his, then. It was a bit personal and I wanted him to be free of his family's watch if he wanted to reject it.

Emmett was very impatient to try out his new snowmobile so he disappeared as soon as the last gift was unwrapped, shouting a quick 'See you later!' at the rest of us.

We all helped Esme to clear the living room and then Edward insisted that I got an extra coat from upstairs. He gave no explanation for his request.

As I sat on the couch in front of the fireplace with Edward, I heard the jingling of bells and the sound of hooves on the Cullen driveway. Edward pulled me up and steered me towards the front door. I suspected that Edward's 'later' had come. He whispered "Merry Christmas, Bella" as he opened the door dramatically to reveal a sleigh attached to two snow-white horses. It was a beautiful sight. Edward extended his hand to me and bowed.

"May I have the pleasure of riding with you, fair maiden of my heart?"

Who was I to reject _that_? It was such a romantic gesture that I almost cried with happiness.

"Why, yes you may, angel of my dreams."

He helped me onto the sleigh at his side and held the reins in one hand while wrapping the other around me. We rode in silence for ten minutes, Edward letting me enjoy the sensation of my first sleigh ride. He was the one to break the silence.

"Bella, I thought this gift would make you happy, and it was not going overboard in my eyes. Plus, it was as much for me as it was for you. He turned to look me in the eyes. I wanted this Christmas to be memorable for you so I also got another gift for you. One to help you remember your first Christmas with me."

He took my hand gently for a second and when he gave it back, I noticed a new addition to my charm bracelet. Next to the heart he had give me months ago was a crystal angel. It glittered in the light reflected by the snow around us. I couldn't hold back my tears any longer.

"What's wrong, love? Don't you like it?"

He looked confused and hurt by my tears. That was unacceptable, since they were not tears of sadness at all. Quite the opposite, actually.

"Edward…It's beautiful. I love it all. I love _you._ I can't even find words to express how happy I'm feeling. It's all so amazing. I want to give you my gift now. I hope you like it as much as I did."

I pulled out a small box from my pocket and handed it to him, my eyes down so I wouldn't see his reaction. In the box was a gold chain on which a golden lamb hung. The lamb had brown, jeweled eyes and on the back was an inscription I personally requested:

'_And so the lion fell in love with the lamb.'_

"I have a lion on my chain. It has the same words on it, but the lion has topaz eyes, like you. I wanted you to remember me whenever I wasn't with you. I hope you like it but you don't have to pretend for my sake. I can always-"

He cut me off with one finger on my lips and brought my chin up with his thumb to stare in his eyes. I saw the chain dangling on the front of his clothes.

"You like it?" I guessed hopefully.

He shook his head. Oh.

"I love it. I'm never going to take it off. It's the best gift I have ever received from anyone, except for your presence, of course. It's wonderful. I love you so much."

He brought his head in for a kiss and my lips were millimeters away from his when we heard the engine of Emmett's snow mobile rev up. This scared the horses and I was sent flying headfirst into a snow pile. Edward's concerned and scared voice came from somewhere above me.

"Bella. Bella! Are you okay?"

He dug me out and had me sitting on his lap in a tight embrace within seconds.

"I'm fine, Edward. It was fun, actually. I never flew like that before; I don't have wings. And the snow cushioned my fall."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know Emmett was so close. I was distracted. Now, my gift is ruined."

He sounded frustrated with himself.

"Nonsense, Edward. I had fun, even the last part of it. And it was _my_ fault that you were distracted. Now, let's get back up on the sleigh so we can finish the ride."

In seconds I was sitting in the sleigh, all snow brushed off me, with Edward by my side.

"You know, we have an eternity of Christmas holidays ahead of us. I wonder if the novelty of it will eventually wear off for us, too. I don't think so, though. With your family, nothing is ever the same."

"So you enjoyed your first Christmas with me?"

How could he doubt that? Didn't he see the happy state I was in since the first day?

"Of course I did. It was the best Christmas of my life. Was it the same for you? Or do you prefer the quiet housekeeping of your previous years?"

"I think it was the best Christmas of my existence. And that is over one hundred years of the holiday. Being with you made all the difference."

We drove off on the sleigh with sunlight causing the snow around us to glitter like in a magical fairytale and delicate snowflakes falling gently on our heads.

Yes, being with him made all the difference. I couldn't be happier.

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**A/N:I know it seems like a sudden ending, but I'll put up the chapters in between soon so any confusion will be cleared up then. How did you like the ending? Please review so I could know and I'll update as fast as I could.**

**p.s. I'm sorry if you guys got a second alert for this chapter. I was editing and it got deleted by mistake.**


	11. The End

**THE END!!!!!!**

**Last words from author:**

I honestly can't believe the story is done already. I'll miss writing sooo badly-tear-.

It's been a great experience writing my first story and the only thing keeping me from writing others right now is time and exams.

I just realized, though, that since it was my first story I should've had a beta because I didn't really have any experience yet. I didn't do this, however, because I wanted my first story to be solely me and not tainted by another writer's style. My opinions don't matter, though. Yours do. So if you think I should've gotten a beta, or if I was okay enough not to need a beta for this story, feel free to indicate in a review.

**IMPORTANT:**

I really want to do a sequel to this story. It will be about the Cullens and their Christmas Vacation several years AFTER Bella's change. Of course, to do this with the right mood, I'll have to wait until the end of the year. But I want to know if a sequel would be wanted first. Again, the decision is yours to make. I might need a lot more reviews between now and December to confirm this, though. I think a reasonable min. limit is 150 reviews?

**ALSO IMPORTANT:**

All my reviewers rock!!!!!

I want to especially mention a few of my reviewers:

**AliceCullen (anon)** Since I can't reply, I have to say here...WOW! I'm very flattered!

You guys reviewed the most…. you're amazing!!!!!!

**edwardsdreamgal **

**Viper003**

**Edwardistotallyhott**

Here are my other constant support reviewers. Without you I would have taken forever to finish my story:

**RainLily13**

**Aesha Osman (anon) **

**Whisperoak88**

**mynewmoon**

**slytherngrl7**

**CourtneyHale**

**2White Flame16**

**massrie**

And last but not least…….

**maymay(anon) **for being my very first reviewer!!!!

To those I didn't mention…you're just as special, I just don't have the space to write so many names :)

LOTS OF LOVE TO YOU ALL!!!! Remember...if you want a sequel, i requested 150 good reviews(not just one or two words, please. i need to know what you liked in this story so i could continue to write what people want.

-obsessedovredward


	12. Another Note

**Another note: **

Hi everybody!

I published a new fic! Tell me what you think ASAP because I'm seriously considering removing the new one soon.

-obsessedovredward

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p.s. i hav no idea how this note just got deleted so i had to re-post it. Sorry everybody!!!!

U know what u have to do if you want a sequel anyway.....go and review some chapters!

-obsessedovredward

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**_IMPORTANT:_**

**Hey,**

**I just wanted to add something here. Thanks a lot to you wonderful ppl who have added me to ur fav author list or AVMCC as a fav story.I**

** just have one request. When you add the story, please review! It doesn't even take a minute and i'll appreciate it a whole lot. Feedback is**

** really important in writing and it will make any future stories i write much , DON'T YOU ALL WANT A SEQUEL? i NEED THOSE**

** REVIEWS IF U DO!!!!! MAKE IT COUNT.......** :)

-obsessedovredward


	13. VERY IMPORTANT:MUST READ!

**Author's Note!**

*****THIS IS AN A/N I RECEIVED TODAY - PLEASE READ***:**

I hate to post an author's note just to ask for a favor, but I really need one from all of you. My friend Bronze, one of the sweetest people I've met on this site and a fellow FF author, lost her friend Daddy's Little Cannibal recently. Today, someone opened a Fanfiction account solely to post an awful message on EVERY story Bronze and DLC wrote. I'm including the link to that person's profile page as well as what they put in their review.

All I ask of you is that you please write to reportabuse at fanfiction dot com and ask for this person's account and all related reviews to be deleted. You have to send it from your email program. It's not within fanfiction.

This is not something any fanfiction writer or reader should be subjected to. We are in mourning for a fellow FF writer/reader and no one should be allowed to post something this hurtful and disgusting.

(Change all the "dot" listed below to a period to reach the address in your search bar)

_Review posted by __**Don't Flip My Bitch Switch** ID #__1932508 http:// www dot fanfiction dot net/u/1932508/Dont_Flip_My_Bitch_Switch :_

_Rejoyce! The wicked bitch is dead._

_How rich! Oh the Irony hahahaha. All those flames about how she should just drop dead and it actually happens. IT ACTUALLY HAPPENS! I can honestly say that May 08, 2009 is the best day of my life. The day this mediocre shit that Stephanie Bell has been posting for years has finally COME TO AN END. Everyone says the best moment of the girls' life is her prom, or her wedding, or her first crib midget. But I STRONGLY disagree. The best moment of THIS girl's life was the moment STEPHANIE BELL WAS HIT BY THAT DRUNK DRIVER AND DIED! I HOPE YOU AND YOUR FUCKTACULAR IDEAS BURN IN THE FIREY PITS OF HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY!_

_P.S. Keep the responses coming. I LOVE THEM_

Please send an email to **reportabuse at fanfiction dot com** and ask for this account and these horrible reviews to be deleted. Even if you don't know Bronze or DLC, please do it anyway. Please think of how her family will feel when they see these horrible messages. They knew their daughter wrote FF and loved to write on this site. They will see it. Think if this was your family or your friend.

We humbly beg for your help with this matter.

My-Bella, Hellopants, & Lizbre

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Please everyone whether you knew her or not, read her stories or not or even liked her or not; do the right thing and report this. There aren't enough words to describe what I feel or want to say about this. This is by far the cruelest most heartless thing I've ever read.

**I've already sent an e-mail report. Please do the same**

This chapter will be deleted in a few days. Hopefully by then this horrid person will have been dealt with, as they deserve.


	14. Sequel Update!

(Sorry if you read this already. I wanted to add something and ended up deleting the chapter instead of replacing it. )

HI EVERYBODY!!!!!!

Just wanted to let you know……I'm definitely going to do the sequel!!!!!!!

But I need some help first. I've created a poll regarding the sequel and I need EVERYONE to vote. It's for your benefit, after all.

So please go to my profile and vote for one of the choices!

And thank you for getting to my required 150 I love reviews so the more I get, the faster I write.U know what u need to do now, _REVIEW!_ ;)

_YOU GUYS ROCK! :)_

-obsessedovredward

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21/05/2009

Hey everybody,

Um, I just wanted to say something that's been bugging me and making my mood really really depressing ......It seems that when I reached 150

reviews they slowed down to the point of almost stopping altogether. I love when I get reviews cuz they tell me that I'm doing SOMETHING right

for once, since I'm still a bit doubtful of whether I have what it takes to write or I have to ask for a specific number to get them? Well I'm not

going to cuz I don't believe in begging...much.I only asked the first time cuz I needed reassurance that the sequel would be received well.

So I just wanted to ask  everyone who reads the story to review, if it's three words, I won't means that you actually took

the time to review so you don't think the story was a pile of rubbish fact, if you think it was horrible, I want to know that, too.

So,please. Review ??? If not for me, then do it for Edward, who really wants to see what he and Bella are getting up to next Christmas (he won't

know unless I write it and I won't write unless I'm in a happy mood cuz any writing done in a bad mood sucks rocks!)

~obsessedovredward~


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